Salvation's Tears
by Night's Darkness
Summary: Sequel to Tear-filled Trails of Blood. Owen and Ianto have finally reconciled their differences and accepted one another as true brothers. But when Owen is injured, and a Torchwood member is lost, can the brothers stay strong and stick together?
1. Chapter 1

**Salvation's Tears**

**Chapter 1**

(1st May 2009)

Torchwood Three was undergoing a change.

It was not a visible change, not yet anyway. But as Captain Jack Harkness stared down at a booklet of paper, he could feel the changing times. When he signed this document nothing would be the same again. Swallowing hard, he drew in a deep breath and signed the paper with a decisive flare of the hand. He then passed it over to Archibald McGregor, who signed it too. Then he passed it on to Toshiko Sato, who also scribbled her signature. Her writing was almost as messy as Owen Harper's, who signed it after her. Ianto Jones, Owen's brother, was next, followed by Michaela Murphy and finally Gwen Cooper. Gwen then passed the sheets back to Jack, who looked down and patted the document, then looked up at the anxious faces. He gave a grim smile.

"So… we're in agreement. Torchwood Two is officially being merged with Torchwood Three. From now on, we are just Torchwood."

They all nodded.

"And each of you has accepted your new title under this organisation's new structure."

Again, they nodded.

"Ok then. Could the Chief Archivist make it final?"

Michaela nodded, reached out and took the documents away from Jack. She pulled out a large stamp and marked the page next to Archie and Jack's signatures. Then she sealed it up inside a special folder, with Torchwood's original 'T' logo, rather than the more recent hexagonal design. With a final stamp, and her own signature, Michaela put the final nail in the old way of Torchwood. She passed it back to Jack, who took it in hand and smiled.

"And that is that."

They all relaxed, letting out soft noises of relief as if they had been expecting someone to strike them down with lightning for daring to challenge the old order.

"This will be put in the Special Archives, but there will always be a hard copy and a soft copy available for both newcomers and older members to read. From now on we will not hide our constitution from anyone who joins us, and we will make sure that all our rules are enforced. No more picking and choosing which rules we will follow."

Gwen flushed as Owen threw her a smirk.

"This is a big step, and we're going to take more, so we need to work together and deal with problems as they come."

Here Jack fought the urge to look at Ianto. His lover had been keeping a secret from him for a while now. Jack had hoped Ianto would eventually admit what it was without pressure. But instead Ianto seemed to be only talking about it with Owen and Michaela. Jack had seen them arguing in the corners of the Hub when they thought no one would notice. Jack wasn't sure what to do about that.

Michaela cleared her throat and spread her hands out on the table. "Erm… well then, perhaps you ought to know that there might be a slight… little… complication coming up."

Ianto sat up ramrod straight, looking alarmed. The fact that he had been unable to hide it, told Jack that this was something very serious.

"Erm, 'kaela…"

Michaela gave him a narrow-eyed look. "You've had time Ianto."

"But-"

"They need to know." she told him.

"But-"

"Ianto for god's sake!" growled Owen.

Ianto sighed and said, "Fine." He turned to Jack, "I should have told you sooner, but I wasn't sure how."

"What? What's going on?" Jack was beginning to feel very worried.

Michaela sighed, "I'm pregnant."

One could have heard a pin drop in the room as they all stared at her.

Then Archie burst out laughing.

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's not funny but… excuse me."

Archie got to his feet and walked out, sniggering. Owen had his face buried in his hands. Ianto was bright red and Michaela was looking determined to put up a fight.

"You're… pregnant." repeated Jack slowly.

"Yes. Pregnant."

Although it was the obvious answer, Jack still had to look at Ianto who gave an eyebrow twitch of confirmation. Jack was unsurprised that Ianto was the father, there was no one else it could be really, unless aliens were involved again.

"Well… are congratulations in order?" he asked carefully.

"It'd be nice." Michaela's voice was icy, "A change from Owen's tune."

"How many times do I have to say this? Neither of you are ready to be parents, can't you see that?" asked Owen loudly, dropping his hands onto the table. He looked between Ianto and Michaela. "You're both on anti-depressants still! You're both still seeing a shrink. Neither of you are ready for a kid."

"Maybe not, but I am not killing it." said Michaela fiercely. Jack noticed that she had a hand resting on her stomach protectively, an action she did not seem aware of.

"It's not killing, it-"

"Look, I don't care how you phrase it, I'm not doing it!" snapped Michaela.

Owen looked irritated, turning to Ianto, "And are you just going to sit there mute as fucking usual?"

Ianto flushed, glancing up at Jack, "I…"

"You must have enough sense to know this isn't the right time."

"So what?" demanded Michaela, rising onto her feet. "It's my choice, not yours Harper, and I am not doing anything to hurt my baby. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to talk to the PM."

With a final contemptuous glare at Owen, she walked out of the room.

"Great." sighed Ianto, glaring at Owen, "Do you have to keep pushing this?"

"An abortion has to be done as early as possible. She's already nine weeks along."

"She'll never, ever, ever go for it Owen. And no, it's not because of religion or anything like that. Even if Blaine had gotten her pregnant she would never have had an abortion, she told me so."

"Ok, enough!" said Jack raising a hand. "Clearly you two need to talk, so I'm calling this meeting to an end. Gwen, Tosh, you two get back to work."

The two women nodded and hurried out of the room. Jack looked at Ianto and Owen and fixed them with a level stare, "I take it this is what you three have been arguing about when you think no one is looking."

The two men nodded, Owen still looking angry. Ianto was struggling to meet Jack's eyes.

"Well, try not to let it interfere with your work, ok?"

Owen nodded and got to his feet, walking out of the room, leaving Jack and Ianto alone. The air became electric with tension, making the hair on the back of Jack's neck stand on end.

"So… you were planning on telling me?" he asked quietly. Ianto flushed and dropped his head.

"I'm sorry." he murmured, "I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't sure how."

"You still should have said something. Or have you decided to go back to keeping stuff from me until it explodes?"

"I was going to tell you, but… fuck!" Ianto's fist hit the table and he got to his feet, pacing away from Jack. Jack remained where he was, waiting. Ianto ran his hand over his face, then turned back to Jack, looking frightened. "Look, I've only known for a week. I've been trying to deal with it in my own head, and I… I guess I wasn't ready to tell you because then… then it would be real."

Jack sighed, "I can understand that."

This seemed to relax Ianto a little and he returned to his chair, sitting back down. He pressed his hands together like he was praying and tapped them against his lips.

"Owen's right." he admitted quietly.

"You think she should abort?"

"I –no, I dunno about that, but I am not ready to be a dad. And Michaela isn't ready to be a mum. Like Owen said, we're still on anti-depressants."

"Will she have to go off them now?"

"I don't know." Ianto admitted, spreading his hands, then resting them on the table.

"… Were you careful?" asked Jack, needing to know if this was happening through bad luck or stupidity.

"Yes! We were super vigilant, obsessively so. Which is why this threw me so much. Plus…" Ianto squirmed, looking embarrassed, "I didn't think 'kaela could. Nine months with Blaine, and not once did she get… well. I didn't think there was a chance in hell I could… when we were using protection."

"Damn things aren't foolproof yet." sighed Jack.

"I know. But…" Ianto buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was afraid to admit it to myself, never mind anyone else."

"You need to face up to this Ianto."

"I know I do!" snapped Ianto, "But Owen's doing enough lecturing for him, you and Archie, so could you please not tell me off?"

Jack sighed and sat back, "So what do you want me to say?"

Ianto looked up at Jack and said quietly, "I… I need you to tell me things could be worse."

"Of course they could. Things can always get worse. And a baby… a baby isn't a bad thing." said Jack gently, reaching out and resting his hand on Ianto's shoulder. "This is just a bad timing thing."

"Owen's acting like it's the end of the world."

"He's worried about you, and Micka."

"I know. I know he is. But I… I don't think I could go through with an abortion anymore than 'kaela."

"Well, maybe you could consider adoption."

"Adoption?"

"Yeah, why not? You said it yourself, you're not ready, but you don't want to abort. Why not give it up when it's born? I think these days you can have open adoptions, so you can pick the family, and even get to see the baby grow up."

Ianto tilted his head in thought. "Yeah… maybe that'd be best. I mean… with this job it wouldn't be right to raise a child knowing it might be left an orphan."

"You don't have to decide now Ianto. You need to talk with Michaela and see what you'll do."

Ianto nodded, closing his eyes, "Ok…"

Jack studied his lover carefully, then got to his feet and walked so he could wrap an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. Ianto sighed and leaned against him.

"I am sorry for not telling you."

"It's ok. I know now, and we can deal with this, if you'll let me help you."

Ianto nodded, slipping an arm around Jack's neck as he stood up, so they were holding each other tight, Ianto's nose pressed against Jack's neck. Jack held him tight for a long moment, then pulled away gently.

"C'mon. Let's get back to work. We can talk about this at home."

Ianto nodded.

Together they walked out to the Main Hub and found Archie having a whispered conversation with Michaela outside the greenhouse. Owen was making a lot of noise by banging things around in the Autopsy Bay. Gwen and Toshiko were staying out of the way, Gwen's big eyes watching Ianto with open curiosity. Ianto ignored her as Jack walked towards his office, pausing at the door,

"Oh, before I forget, Michaela!"

Michaela and Archie looked around.

"You're officially off field work."

Michaela raised an eyebrow, "So, same old, same old?"

Jack shrugged, "Pretty much."

"Noted." Michaela went back to talking with Archie.

"So… I guess since I'm not the Archivist anymore, I can't really go work down there." sighed Ianto.

"Why don't you start scouring for recruits? New Field Agents and the like." suggested Jack gently, knowing Ianto needed something to do to take his mind off the problem.

"Yeah, ok." Ianto nodded and walked over to his computer consol, sitting down and within a few minutes he was absorbed in his searching. Jack watched him work for a few minutes, then walked down to the Autopsy Bay. Owen was elbow deep in a Hoix they had found and been forced to shoot down.

"Your bedside manner needs serious work." said Jack quietly, walking down the steps and standing close enough that they could talk privately.

"Sugar-coating the truth isn't going to work on those two twits!" hissed Owen, not looking up from his work.

"Twits?" asked Jack, raising an eyebrow.

"They are twits! They're stupid and insane."

"Should you really use that word considering one of them has actually been in a mental hospital?"

Owen lifted his eyes long enough to throw Jack a withering look. "Ianto is still coming to terms with the fact that he is no longer in love with her. Now she's carrying his kid. You really don't think that's gonna confuse him more? He'll feel obligated to be with her, to look after the kid."

"He'll want to be there, but he's not going to want to be with her, not after all they went through to get here."

"Yeah, and where is here Jack?"

"Ianto's with me. Micka's starting to date Andy Davidson."

"Oh and I bet Andy's gonna be real enticed at the idea of dating someone who got knocked up by another bloke the night he went on a date with her."

"Wasn't a real date."

"My point is," ground out Owen, "The second she tells Andy she's pregnant, he's gone. Nice guy or not, he's out of here. And then what? She's just gonna be ok with it and find someone else? No. She'll latch on to Ianto again, or you and fuck up your relationship."

"Didn't realise you cared about me and Ianto that much."

"Much as it pains me, you're much better for him right now than she is." snarled Owen.

"Ouch, you're really pissed." observed Jack, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well I'm sorry, was I the only one who was looking forward to some semblance of normality with my brother?"

"Yeah, but sounds like you're blaming her and not Ianto for the situation."

Owen stilled for a moment, then resumed his dissection. "Maybe I am."

"They're both at fault. And they've both made a mistake. Ianto said they were careful."

"And you believe him?"

"You don't?"

"They're on meds! They're not well. They could have forgotten the whole time, not thinking for a damn second what the consequences might be. Clearly they weren't because it was a stupid thing to do from the outset."

"Complaining about it won't help." said Jack thoughtfully. He was a little annoyed at Owen's anger. He understood it, but he did not think it was fair to keep riling about it. After all, if nothing else, it was a baby. A person. Did that not count for something? Or was Owen afraid to let himself think about it, because he was too worried about how Ianto would handle it? That seemed likely. Owen was not as heartless as he liked to act.

"Which is why we need to take action." Owen retorted, looking up at Jack with serious eyes.

"You can't make them do it. Hell, if you tried, I'd stop you."

Owen glared at him, and then looked back at the Hoix. "Fuck off Jack."

Jack sighed and left the Autopsy Bay. Archie followed him into his office and shut the door.

"Idiots!" he barked as soon as the door was closed. "Absolute idiots!"

Jack sighed again and sat down in his chair. "So is everyone on the same wavelength?"

"You can't think this is a good thing." retorted Archie, folding his arms.

"I don't, but… well you know what'll happen if we push them. They'll start being secretive and won't feel able to come to us for help, all the stuff we've been trying to teach them to do."

"I know. But this is quite possibly the worst timing in history."

"I dunno… I've met people with worse." said Jack, thinking about the Doctor.

"Humph!" grunted Archie as he sat down in the chair opposite Jack's. "So, standard 'no field work' rules, and we'll let the two of them muddle along?"

"With our help, of course."

"Of course."

"It's not like this is a really bad time, the world isn't ending."

"No. But she's gonna have to go off her meds if she wants to keep it."

"Ok… that could be a problem."

"And he sees the light!" sighed Archie, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Look, is there no way she can stay on her meds and keep the pregnancy?"

"Ask Dr. Hamilton when Micka tells her."

"If she can't we'll deal with it."

"If she can't there's a good chance Social Services will watch her like a hawk until she gives birth, and after that they might decide that she's just not fit to be a mother. And that, Jack, will kill her."

"What about Ianto?"

"He's better off than her, but the fact is he's in a high-risk job and on meds as well. Doesn't look good for him either."

"They wouldn't just take the baby, would they? It's not like that anymore, is it?"

Archie shrugged, "Who the hell can say? We're supposed to have better monitoring on foster kids these days, and then you hear about all the abuse going on."

Jack grimaced. "I suggested to Ianto they consider adoption."

"Funny, so did I to Micka."

"It's their choice."

"I know. But let's get through these next nine months before we worry about that."

Jack nodded, then he sat forward. "We should call UNIT and inform them of our changes. Like you've said before, keeping them in the loop will ease their fears."

Archie nodded.

* * *

><p>Well, here it is. The first chapter of the sequel to that mammoth fic Tear-Filled Trails of Blood. In these first few chapters as the story gets going, I'd really appreciate any and all criticism. It'll help guide me in the development of the main plot.<p>

Please note I haven't watched Miracle Day and have no interest in watching it.

Anyway, here we go again!

Night's Darkness


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic reception you gave me and this fic. I'll try to be more regular with my updates, so keep an eye out around Saturday/Sunday/Monday each week. I'll do my best to keep to these days.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

(2nd May 2009)

"What are the risks if I stay on my meds now?"

Owen looked up as Michaela posed the question to him, leaning on the railing of the Autopsy Bay. He sighed and straightened his back.

"Depends on what you're on."

"You know what I'm on. So what are the risks?"

"Well, you'll have to stop taking Paxil. It can cause heart defects in the foetus."

"Can it be replaced with another drug?"

"Possibly. Dr. Hamilton will need to check."

"I'll be talking to her today, I just wanted some idea of what I would hear from her when I go in."

Owen had to admit she was managing to sound perfectly rational. It did not make him think this idea was any better.

"Look, I know you think I'm just being an arse but-"

Michaela shook her head. "I don't."

Owen raised his eyebrows dubiously. "Oh?"

"I get it. You're worried about Ianto. You don't think this is fair on him. He's just getting his life together again and I'm fucking it up, right? But life isn't fair, and I will not condemn my baby for existing when it was both me and Ianto who made this mess ourselves. We'll deal with it."

"You say that now, but what if you have to go off the meds?"

"If I have to go off them, I will."

"You really want to risk going back into that state you were in where you thought everyone was out to kill you?"

Michaela clenched her hands around the railing, blanching as she considered his words. Owen did not like trying to scare her, or pressure her, but he had to try and make her really see what was at stake. Swallowing, Michaela drew herself up,

"If… if it looks like I'm going that way again, I'll count on you and Dr. Hamilton to make sure I go back to Providence Park for as long as I need to be there if it'll make sure this baby is born safe."

This surprised Owen. Michaela had left the mental hospital as soon as she had been able. To be willing to go back to it for the sake of her baby…

"You really want this kid, don't you?" he sighed.

"I really want this baby to live." said Michaela fiercely. "My mother would have aborted me if she had been able to –she told me as much."

Owen winced, "Oh…"

"If she had done that, if I'd never existed… bouts of insanity notwithstanding, I have never not wanted to live. I just… I just cannot face the idea of killing this baby, I mean… it will become a person with ideas, thoughts, feelings… how can I take that away? If I go through with an abortion, I will carry that forever, I would never forgive myself. Whatever happens… if in the end giving it up is best for it, I will do that. But I can't kill it. I just can't."

Owen thought of his own mother, who he had hated for so long, but had loved him, and who had been devastated to miscarry a baby. Ianto had told him how the miscarriages had weakened her, broken her a little. If he had been lost, she would have wept for him. And here before him was another woman who would be devastated if she lost this baby.

Owen sighed, leaning on his knees, "If you have to go off your meds I'll… I'll see if I can find someway to substitute it."

"Thank you Owen." said Michaela, nodding to him, then turning around and walking away. As she did, Owen finally allowed himself to consider the dates and bring up the information in his mind about the foetal development. Nine weeks. That meant that the heart was already beating, a tiny hum of life…

Owen held up his index finger and squinted at it. The embryo was about half the length of his finger. He shook his head and tossed the pen down.

'_Take it slow Harper. Don't go getting all mushy.'_

* * *

><p>"Rhys is delighted for you." said Gwen to Ianto as she watched him prepare a cup of coffee. "But then again, Rhys loves kids."<p>

"Tell him thanks." muttered Ianto.

"Are you doing ok?" asked Gwen, "I mean, I bet this is such a shock and after everything you've been through… well no one would judge you for being less than thrilled."

"I know. And I'm not. But I can't… I can't be angry either, not at the baby anyway. At myself and 'kaela, yes."

"You were careful though, weren't you?"

"Yep."

"So it was just an accident."

"Yes. But I really don't think that's a good way to think about it. Not really fair on the baby. Would you want to be told you were an accident?"

"Fair point." said Gwen, glancing around as Michaela rushed past her, hand over her mouth. "Looks like 'Morning Sickness' has arrived."

Ianto grimaced. "Great."

"Maybe it won't last long. Some women only get it for a week or two."

"And others get it all the way through." said Jack, walking over to them. "It's a bit of a case of pot luck."

"Well let's hope it's the minimum amount of time."

Gwen and Jack nodded emphatically.

"Jack, is there any danger to the baby in the Hub?" asked Gwen, propping her head in her hand as she looked up at him. "Like, from the Rift?"

"Hard to say. People who are born close to the Rift can be more sensitive to temporal shifts and ripples."

"So should Michaela not be in the Hub?"

"The Rift is in all of Cardiff, we'd have to send her probably all the way back to Glasgow to get her away from it. Besides which, it may not affect the baby. Really depends on the person."

"Oh." Gwen pursed her lips. "What about alien devices?"

"Are you trying to make me paranoid?" demanded Ianto, looking at her with wide eyes.

"I just –well, anything to make things easier for you guys, yeah? So knowing what she should avoid, we can all make sure she does." said Gwen awkwardly.

"She should be fine for most devices, but anything that requires special handling, we'll get Ianto or me to deal with it."

"Dubhtach will be useful there." said Ianto, gesturing at the giant Irish Wolfhound who was following a now pale Michaela back to the couch, where she rested her head in Michaela's lap. "She can smell dangerous items and warn Michaela."

Jack nodded. Over the past few days, they had taken the dog out with them on retrievals. Dubhtach had proven to be far more efficient at finding alien tech than Toshiko's scanners, sniffing them out and then barking a series of coded barks as she lay down to tell them if it was safe. A loud, long bark was a warning of danger. A short, more cheerful bark was the equivalent of an 'all clear'. So far she had been right every time. It was impressive.

"UNIT still wants a whole troop like her to use. It's not a bad idea." said Jack, admiring the giant dog as she retrieved a folder and brought it to her mistress. "It'd get Michaela out of the Hub for a while."

"Plus she'd have fun picking out the puppies to train. Don't be surprised if she comes back with a tea cup Yorkshire Terrier." warned Ianto, "She always wanted to match my rabbits in dogs."

"You mean a giant like Señor Fluffles, and a tiny little thing like Bart?" asked Gwen grinning. Ianto nodded. "Aww…! That's cute."

Jack shook his head, smiling.

"Any luck with scouting out new people?"

"Not really. It'll take me a while to filter through them all." said Ianto, pouring out the coffee.

"Good. What about you Gwen?"

"I need to sit down with Ianto and really go through all his work. If I'm going to do as good as him I'll need him to reveal all his trade secrets." Gwen winked at Ianto as he gave her a cup. Ianto smirked.

"You'll be my little apprentice. I may even give you Mickey Mouse ears to wear."

"So long as an army of brooms don't take over the Hub." said Jack accepting his cup with a smile, "Wouldn't want that to happen again." he muttered as he walked away. Gwen laughed, then frowned and looked at Ianto for confirmation. Ianto nodded seriously. Gwen's eyes widened as she walked away, missing Ianto's grin which he shared with Jack across the Hub.

"Jack!" called Toshiko.

"Tosh!" replied Jack with gusto, sensing in her voice something was up.

"I've got some Rift Activity around Foreshore Road, near the Heliport." Toshiko's eyes scanned the screen quickly, looking for more information, "Looks like something's been left behind."

"What kind of thing?"

"I think it's an alien, but my readings are a bit strange."

"Ok, Gwen, Owen, lets go check it out."

Gwen and Owen nodded, rushing to their desks and pulling out their guns. Ianto retrieved Jack's coat and helped him into it.

"Thanks." said Jack quickly, flashing him a smile and pleased to get one back.

"Mind yourselves." said Archie, nose buried in paperwork.

"Ná bás." called Michaela as she typed on her blackberry. It occurred to Jack that those two were the only ones who ever simply said 'Be careful' and 'Don't die' whenever a team member left on a mission as if it was a perfectly acceptable way of saying goodbye, usually without looking up from their work. He smirked to himself. Even when one considered their own behaviour, it was obvious the Torchwood Two workers were definitely more quirky. After all, Archie had put Dubhtach on the payroll; a packet of biscuits for every mission she went on.

* * *

><p>"Why haven't you yelled at me yet?" asked Ianto of Archie when Michaela was gone to attend her session with Dr. Hamilton. Archie looked up from his folder and smirked.<p>

"I think you're getting enough from Owen, don't you think?"

"Seriously Archie. Why not? I'd much rather you yell now than later."

"Fine." Archie closed the folder and set it aside, leaning forward with a serious expression. Ianto braced himself. "You were both very stupid, and now you need to deal with it."

That said, Archie sat back and opened the folder again.

"What, that's it?"

"Yup."

"Really? Nothing else?"

"Nope."

Ianto sighed and scrunched his nose in annoyance. "You really have no more to say to me."

"I can tell you to get all the sleep you can now if you plan on keeping the kid, otherwise, babies aren't my thing."

"Not mine either."

"Well maybe that is something to consider."

Ianto sighed. A part of him really wanted to keep this baby, his baby, and raise it. He wanted to be a good dad. But maybe being a good dad would mean that he had to give the baby up to a better life.

"Quit thinking so loud!" snapped Archie, glaring up at him. "Or do it somewhere else."

Ianto gulped and scurried away, just as the cog wheel rolled away and Jack, Owen and Gwen entered looking sour. Ianto was quick to give them his full attention.

"Nothing there?"

"Not a thing." said Owen shortly, pulling off his leather jacket.

"Toshiko, can you double check the readings?" asked Jack.

"Already on it. Something definitely came through." said Toshiko, fingers flying over the keyboard. Ianto moved to his own computer and began trying to help, examining the CCTV in the area. Archie set down his folder and heaved himself to his feet.

"Any kind of Rift energy detected moving away from the area?" he asked, stomping down to Toshiko's station.

"Nope, there's nothing."

"Wasn't a Rift returnee?" asked Ianto, noticing the similarities between the energy readings as he got to his feet to help Jack out of the coat.

"If it was we couldn't find anyone."

"Toshiko, keep an eye on it for a while." said Jack, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Might have just been a flare of energy, but I don't want to risk us missing something."

Toshiko nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Sure, I'll set up a continuous scan on that area."

"Good."

"I'll order lunch in a few minutes. It'll be here by the time 'kaela gets back."

"Sounds good. Just remember Archie isn't allowed sodium." said Jack, smirking as Archie let out a snarl.

"Fuck you Jack!"

"Oooh, tetchy." cooed Jack, waggling his eyebrows at Archie, who glared at him. "Always loved that in the Scots."

Ianto grimaced, "Please stop." he uttered sounding disgusted. Jack chuckled and dropped a kiss on his nose before bounding into his office. Archie scowled after him, then looked at Ianto.

"Lad, give him a mountain of paperwork for that."

Ianto tilted his head to the side, then smirked, "Ok."

As Ianto walked away and Archie returned to the couch, Owen leaned down to Tosh's ear.

"Vindictive old bastard, isn't he?"

Toshiko giggled.

* * *

><p>As always, reviews are both very helpful and very comforting.<p>

Night's Darkness


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

(3rd May 2009)

Ianto woke up first and wriggled out of Jack's possessive grip so he could get out of bed. He grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his head, walking into the hall. He grinned to see Dubhtach lying in front of Michaela's room. The wolfhound lifted her head to watch him as he approached.

"Morning girl." he murmured, bending to pet her head. Then he took hold of the door handle and pushed it down so he could peer into the room. Michaela was still asleep, in a string top and shorts, her covers down by her ankles. A pregnancy book lay on the floor by the bed, and one of her hands rested on her tummy. Ianto had a strange flash of insight of himself checking in on her in a few months and seeing her belly round and big with the baby. It was gone in the same second it came, but it definitely woke him up. He would try to talk to her today about the possibility of adoption. He still wasn't sure if he even liked the idea, but they had to be sensible.

Ianto shut the door and ambled down the stairs. He released his pet rabbits, the titchy, black furred Bart and the enormous, sandy furred Señor Fluffles. Bart immediately scampered out of the kitchen, no doubt looking for Dubhtach. The bratty bunny was fond of napping on the wolfhound's back. Señor, on the other hand, nuzzled against Ianto's calf and followed him around as he prepared coffee. Soon Dubhtach came down to join them, Bart on her back, and followed by Michaela, who was yawning and rubbing her stomach.

"Morning." said Ianto, smiling at her.

"Urgh." she greeted, dropping into a chair and pouting at the table. Ianto smirked,

"Sleepy?"

"Sicky." she replied, still rubbing her stomach. "If this is how I'm going to wake up every morning, you are in for a world of misery as payback."

"Payback?"

"I'm being punished with morning sickness, so I have to punish you. This is half your fault." she reasoned, tilting her head as she propped it up on her hand. She threw him a sardonic smile, which reassured him enough.

"Well at least I'm not being fully blamed." sighed Ianto as he poured out the coffee into two mugs.

"Indeed, and to maintain that, I would make me a cup of tea if I were you."

"What about peppermint tea? Might settle your stomach?"

"Hrm… maybe. I'm not allowed to have caffeine anymore, am I?"

"I dunno. Pregnancy is one of those few areas I know very little about."

"I should have checked with Owen." she sighed, looking even more sulky.

"I think I have peppermint from when I was having trouble eating after the cannibals. Why not go for that for the moment?"

"Can I have herbal tea though? I might not be able to have that either. Hell, I'm not allowed ibuprofen or paracetamol."

"Doesn't it usually say on the side of things?"

"Well, at least I'll be keeping up my reading for the next ten months."

"T-ten?" stuttered Ianto before he could stop himself. Michaela nodded, looking rueful,

"Think about it, four weeks a month, more or less, yeah? And forty weeks for a normal pregnancy so… four into forty is ten."

"Yes, except that only works if you're going by the moon and not the solar calendar." said Jack as he sauntered into the room. He dropped a kiss on Michaela's head and then gave Ianto a proper kiss on the mouth before snagging his coffee. "Most months are more like 4 and a half weeks, which brings it around to 9 months. Plus, you're nine weeks along, but really you're only seven, because they use that old method that includes the two weeks before you actually conceived."

"How come?"

"It was a system set up before scans were really available so there had to be room for error to set up your estimated date of delivery."

Michaela nodded, seemingly just absorbing the information, while Ianto scrunch his brow and then asked,

"Why do you know that?"

Jack looked at him, and a flash of darkness passed across his eyes, then he shrugged, "You stick around long enough you learn plenty of odd facts."

"Uh huh…" said Ianto suspiciously. Michaela rubbed her brow.

"Dr Hamilton is going to wean me off the meds." she said quietly.

"Oh, she decided that was safe?"

"Yes. The deal is I go back to seeing her everyday, and we'll reduce the amount of the drugs over a couple of weeks to get me off them. I'd rather just stop the Paxil, because of the effects it can have, but she's worried it'll have a rebound effect, sending me deeper than if I wean myself off."

Ianto could see the conflict on Michaela's face. She had no desire to return to the depression she had fallen into, but equally, she was worried about the effect the drugs would have on the baby.

"You have to do what's best for you, not just the baby." said Jack firmly, walking from Ianto's side to rest his hand on the back of her neck. It was a gesture that calmed her, much like it did with Ianto, who found it grounding, reassuring and a little bit powerful, as if Jack would take on some of the struggle for him.

"But what if the baby's heart is damaged by the Paxil? If I'd thought to check sooner-"

"Shh," Jack crouched down in front of her, "I'm sure the baby will be fine. You're doing the best you can. And maybe Owen will use our scanners to check if anything looks off. Would that help?"

Michaela nodded at once.

"Ok, I'll give him a call, and see what he says. I'm sure he can take a few minutes from his Sunday to do it." Jack squeezed her knee and straightened up, walking out of the room to find his phone. Ianto watched him go, grateful that Jack was being so understanding about all of this. It made him feel that maybe they could handle this. Michaela looked at him, giving him a feeble smile,

"I'm lucky you and Jack are so strong." she sighed.

"What'd you mean?" Ianto sat at the table next to her, setting his mug down. Señor pressed his head against Ianto's leg and he scratched at the long ears distractedly as Michaela shrugged,

"Just… I couldn't do this on my own."

"Who says you have to?"

"No, I mean… if Blaine had gotten me pregnant… God I don't know what would have happened. He probably would have kicked me until I lost it."

Ianto winced, he hated hearing about Blaine, especially since Michaela always sounded detached from the experience. "Well… that's not what's happening. You're here with us, and we'll do what's best."

"What's best?" Michaela wondered, propping her head up again. "If the Paxil has damaged the baby's heart… what then?"

"Don't think like that."

"I looked it up. It can cause foetal heart defects in the first three months of pregnancy and PPHN -Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn- in the last three. It's so damaging and I'm still on it!"

"You need it."

"I don't need a damaged baby!" she snapped, then covered her mouth in shame. Ianto felt the breath knocked out of him and he sat back. Michaela swallowed, looking ashamed, "I just meant… I just…"

"No, I get it. No one wants an unhealthy baby." said Ianto shaking off the chills he felt at the idea of the baby being damaged. "But… well, we still don't know if we're going to keep it, do we?"

"I've already said I can't abort it! Even if it is damaged."

"I'm not talking about abortion, I'm talking about adoption?"

"Adoption?"

"Yeah. We could maybe give it up for adoption."

Michaela's face clouded over and Ianto sensed the mood swing before it hit, "What, I just plop out the baby and hand it over to some stranger and never see it again? I just hope that the people taking my baby will be nice enough to treat it right?" she demanded, throwing her hands out in a futile gesture.

"No! I don't think it's like that anymore. I mean, it's not like it used to be I don't think. Aren't there some situations where we'd be able to keep in touch? Open adoptions or something?"

"I have no idea." she snapped.

"Well, why don't we find out?" asked Ianto, trying to be patient. He reminded himself that he was dealing with a woman who was on antidepressants, had hormones rushing through her body, and had not had any easier a childhood than himself. Children were a sensitive topic for the both of them. He also reminded himself he was dealing with his friend, someone he loved and he had to treat her fairly.

"I don't want to just throw it away."

"It wouldn't be throwing it away, it'd be trying do what was best for it."

Michaela wrapped her arms around her middle and slumped in her seat, not answering him. Ianto was saved from saying more because Jack came in.

"Owen'll meet us in an hour to do the scan." he announced, glancing from one to the other, and saying nothing.

* * *

><p>"Ok, just let me get set up and we'll take a look." said Owen.<p>

"The scan won't do anything bad, will it? No x-rays or anything like that?" asked Michaela, twitching on the autopsy table.

"Nope. Nothing like that. We're using one of my best scanners, emits no harmful radiation and gets a clearer picture than the best M.R.I." Owen gave Michaela a reassuring smirk and that seemed to settle her. She was gnawing on her lip so hard she was in danger of making it bleed. Ianto meanwhile was standing with Jack on the steps. Jack had his arm around Ianto's waist and was whispering to him.

"Listen, I know this isn't easy, but you have to keep it in your head that right now Michaela is a walking hormone factory put into overdrive."

Ianto opened his mouth to tell him off, but Jack continued, "I'm not saying that negates her opinions or feelings, but you have to remember that right now her body is screaming at her to protect the baby, to love the baby, to do whatever she has to for the baby, and yes, to keep the baby with her. In a way this is better, because her depression could easily have made her completely apathetic to it. Instead she already loves it. But the pills, and her hormones and her own mind are all working her into a very protective state and you need to respect that even if it makes things difficult."

"I'm trying."

"I know you are. I'm telling you this because I know in your head you're struggling with the fact that her hormones are causing her mood swings, because you worry acknowledging that is dismissing her opinions."

"… maybe a little. It seems really sexist. Like calling her hysterical."

"I know. And in many cases it is used unfairly. But right now it's not, so long as you only think of it as a part of it."

Ianto nodded, giving Jack a quick smile. Jack grinned and squeezed his waist.

"Ok, we are ready to go." said Owen, holding the wand of the scanner at the ready. "If you'll just lie back and think of Torchwood Michaela."

Michaela did as she was told, and Owen switched on the scanner, lowering the wand to her lower belly. As soon as it touched her Michaela covered her eyes like a child and shuddered.

"Easy…" said Owen gently. Ianto slipped away from Jack and rested his hand on Michaela's hair, stroking it as Owen moved the wand over her lower abdomen. "Now, let's see where this little one is…"

It took a moment or two, during which Ianto saw nothing but shadows, his attention mostly on Michaela who was now visibly trembling. Then Owen let out a noise of triumph,

"Aha! Gotcha." He bent closer to the screen, almost blocking Ianto's view. After a few moments of careful examination, he straightened up and an almost goofy smile was trying to break out on his face. "Looks absolutely fine."

"Really?" asked Ianto in surprise. He could admit now that he had expected bad news. It just seemed like what would happen to them.

"Really. Heart looks fine. Beating normally and no sign of any defects."

"Are you sure?" asked Michaela, hands still over her eyes. Owen finally smiled and nodded,

"I'm sure. Here, take a look." He stood aside and pulled the screen closer to the two. Michaela didn't drop her hands.

"I can't!" she whimpered. Ianto shook his head and took hold of her wrists, gently pulling them away from her, "No, Ianto! Please, I can't-"

"Yes you can. You can, 'kaela, look." soothed Ianto, pulling at her to look at the screen. Looking terrified, Michaela glanced at the screen out of the corner of her eye. And then she turned her head fully and reached out, pulling the screen closer. Her mouth fell open and she gasped.

"Oh! Oh… look."

Ianto found himself smiling at her reaction, then finally looked at the screen himself. His jaw dropped,

"Oh!"

The screen showed the foetus in real colour, like a camera was actually inside Michaela's womb. It had a massive head, black spots where its eyes should have been, tiny little arms budding from its C-shaped body, and budding legs at the bottom. The umbilical cord was stretched across to the side, connecting the baby to Michaela. As Ianto stared at it, it twitched and moved, little arms flailing and budding legs kicking.

"Wow…" muttered Ianto, unable to look away.

"Mmhm. And listen." said Owen quietly. He flicked a switched and a rapid, regular beat filled the space. "_That_ is its heartbeat."

Ianto listened, stunned by the feeling blossoming in his chest as he watched the little creature twitch and move. He became aware of pain in his arm and glanced down. At some point Michaela had grabbed onto his forearm and now had it in a death grip as she stared at the screen. Ianto, despite having gotten good at reading her, could not fathom what she was thinking.

"'kaela?"

Michaela bit her lower lip again, and then let out a little, slightly hysterical giggle, "Look! Its got a tail!"

Owen and Ianto moved as one to examine the screen, and Ianto saw there was indeed a little protuberance coming out of the bottom of the foetus. Owen straightened up again first,

"That'll go away. It's just-"

"I know! But its funny." Michaela giggled again. "It's like a little monkey. I thought it would look more like a fish!"

Ianto frowned, slightly worried now. "Why would-"

"Well, don't most creatures at the very start of their existence all pretty much look the same?" Colour was flushing Michaela's cheeks, which had been white from fear moments ago. Ianto could hear Jack chuckling behind him.

"I suppose, but only in the first week or two." said Owen carefully. "It develops rapidly. It's already got brain waves."

"Mmm…" Michaela looked almost dazed as she stared at the image on screen. "Well… if we can handle dogs and rabbits, we can handle a little monkey, can't we?"

Ianto decided her relief over the baby's health was making her giddy.

"Sure… why not?"

He glanced at Owen over Michaela's head and shrugged. Michaela let out a sigh of relief and Ianto felt a lot of the tension leave her body as she looked up at him and smiled,

"I think it's got your arm buds."

Ianto blinked down at her, then felt his own giggle bubbling up. He did not fight it and ducked his head, leaning into her as she rested a hand on his chest and giggled with him. Ianto felt his body relax and he encircled her in his arms, and hugging her to him. He could admit that he had been worried too that something would be wrong. He just had not wanted to let Michaela see, in case she had gotten even more anxious.

Ianto felt Jack's eyes on him and glanced up at his lover. Jack was leaning against the wall and smiling at him with a nostalgic sadness. Ianto tried to ask him silently what was wrong. Jack smiled wider and shook his head.

"Congratulations. She's beautiful."

"She?"

"Oi! Don't go guessing what sex it is before the bloody organs have a chance to develop!" said Owen, checking his computer to ensure it was recording the scan.

"Well, better than calling the baby it all the time." said Jack with a chuckle.

"I'm calling it monkey!" said Michaela with a giggle. Ianto rolled his eyes with an indulgent smile on his lips.

"If you must."

"It's either monkey or Tigger –because of the tail." she told him, eyes fixed on the now frozen image as Owen took the wand away and let her sit up. "How's the song go? 'The wonderful thing about Tiggers…'?"

Jack grinned, then bounded down the stairs, jumped in front of her and seized her hands as he burst into song,

"_Oh…The wonderful thing about tiggers_

_Is tiggers are wonderful things!_

_Their tops are made out of rubber;_

_Their bottoms are made out of springs!"_

He pulled Michaela off the table, put an arm around her waist, held her hand and started to dance around in circles, carrying her with him as he continued to sing,

"_They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy,_

_Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!_

_But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is_

_I'm the only one!_

_Oh the wonderful thing about tiggers_

_Is tiggers are wonderful chaps!_

_They're loaded with vim and with vigor;_

_They love to leap in your laps!_

_They're jumpy, bumpy, clumpy, thumpy,_

_Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!_

_But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is_

_I'm the only one!"_

Michaela squealed with laughter as she was swept along in Jack's arms. Ianto and Owen stared as the pair circled them around and around as Jack continued in a loud voice,

"_Tiggers are cuddly fellas._

_Tiggers are awfully sweet._

_Ev'ryone else is jealous._

_That's why I repeat and repeat:_

_The wonderful thing about tiggers_

_Is tiggers are wonderful things!_

_Their tops are made out of rubber;_

_Their bottoms are made out of springs!_

_They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy,_

_Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!_

_But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is_

_I'm the only one!" _

Jack finished by lifting Michaela into a bridal hold and disappearing with her giggling up into the main part of the Hub, leaving Ianto and Owen standing there, staring.

"Did that just happen?" asked Owen carefully as he wrapped the scanner's cable around the wand.

"If it didn't… you probably need meds too." said Ianto sounding equally dumbfounded.

"No one will believe us when we tell them."

"Except we have cameras."

Owen considered it for a moment, then pointed after Jack and Michaela.

"… For the love of God go save the CCTV!"

* * *

><p>Hey guys, I really hope you're enjoying the story still, and I would appreciate all reviews and concrit that can be given.<p>

Night's Darkness/Ginger


	4. Chapter 4

New chapter order up! I hope you enjoy this over the next week. I may miss the next update by a few days, as I'm getting an eye surgery done on Tuesday, and having already had the other eye done, I know how long it takes me to shake the anaesthetic now, plus, y'know, eyes and screens are not the best of friends. But hopefully I'll be able to post sometime in the following week.

In the meantime, enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

(3rd May 2009)

Jack was proud of Ianto. He usually was, but today was particular. He had watched Ianto take the role of supporter for Michaela when she had needed help. He had also watched Ianto's face change from shock to awe as he had looked at the foetus and had seen the moment when Ianto had stopped thinking about the baby as an abstract concept that was affecting his life and really saw it was a baby, a little person, a part of himself. And he had accepted it. He wasn't aware of it, but he had. Jack had seen that face before and knew what it meant.

The other reason Jack was proud of him was because he showed no signs of jealousy or paranoia as Jack danced around with Michaela, he just seemed amused and bemused.

Jack was glad Ianto was letting go of his paranoia over something happening between him and Michaela, because in truth he would not do anything. He had made his decision to be with Ianto and had accepted that Ianto needed him to only be with him, especially now. But that did not mean Jack did not care for Michaela, or disliked her. Indeed, he rather adored her, much in the way he adored Gwen for her human –if occasionally blinkered- perspective on things, the way he adored Toshiko for her quiet determination and intellect, the way he adored Owen for his skill and genuine goodness –not that he would tell him in so many words. Hell he even adored Archie for his gruff protectiveness of Torchwood. As for Ianto himself, he was different, because he was the one who Jack wanted to be with.

Michaela he adored more like he would a child. He was well aware she was not a child, but a part of him wanted to spoil her like one. He wanted to cuddle her, protect her, and make sure she was secure in the knowledge that she was loved. He also sensed that she revelled in his attention, which he kept strictly platonic so she would not be misled. He knew she still held a lingering attraction for him, but she had not made any passes at him since the week she had been released from Providence Park. Jack guessed that as long as he paid her some attention and affection, she would probably not try. He was determined to prove to her that she did not need to offer sex for love.

All these thoughts passed across his mind as he span her around again, holding tight so she did not fall.

"Jack! Jack stop I'm dizzy!" she squealed, "I'm gonna be sick."

Jack slowed down and brought them to a halt, holding her still as she swayed, eyes glazed with dizziness, still giggling breathlessly. Ianto was watching them from the side, smirking indulgently.

"If she throws up in here, you're cleaning it up." he told him, shaking his head.

"Noted." said Jack, tightening his hold as Michaela stumbled.

"Where's the couch?" she asked, still glassy eyed.

It was right behind them. Jack guided her to it and let her plop down, panting.

"Oh… dizzy… so, so dizzy."

Jack gave himself a mental pat on the back. Any nerves or worries that had been bothering her had been forgotten for a few moments. He turned to Ianto with a wide smirk.

"Feel like a spin?" he asked, advancing on the Welshman. Ianto held up his hands and backed away.

"Oh no! Michaela's much more suited to such things."

"Traitor!" muttered Michaela, who now had her head between her knees. Ianto smirked and then scuttled out of Jack's reach as the older man continued to advance.

"I mean it Jack, no!"

"Oh come on!"

"No! You –you -"

"Get Owen?" suggested Michaela.

"Are you that sick?" Jack asked in alarm as he spun around to her.

Michaela shook her head, smirking. "Not what I meant?"

Jack had to think for a minute, then grinned and bounded back to the Autopsy Bay. Ianto sighed with relief.

"Thanks." he sighed to Michaela, who smiled,

"Just have the CCTV ready."

Ianto nodded just as there was a great clatter and Owen barked,

"Harkness get the fuck off me!"

"Oh! The wonderful thing about tiggers…"

Ianto darted to the nearest computer so they could get good angles.

* * *

><p>Owen shut the door to his apartment and sighed in relief to hear the TV going. Toshiko was still here.<p>

"You will not believe what Harkness tried to do to me!" he complained as he shrugged off his jacket and went into the living area.

"Oh I think I can." said Toshiko with a knowing smile as she gestured to the TV. Owen glanced at it and flushed with embarrassment as he watched himself trying and failing to fend of Jack as the Captain picked him up by the waist and spun him around.

"I swear I will find a way to keep you and Ianto from texting one another. It always results in my humiliation."

Toshiko chuckled as she swooped in and pecked him on the lips. "So how did everything go?"

"Good. No sign of any defects of any kind. Of course I'll need to keep a close eye on her, but so far so good."

"Does this mean you're coming around to the idea?"

Owen sighed and sat back, "It means I have accepted it as a fact and not one I can change any time soon. The way I figure it, I can either pick a fight with Ianto and Michaela over it, or I can say nothing and do what I can to help."

Toshiko smiled and curled her legs under her as she rested against his side, one of her hands passing through his hair, "I'm really glad to hear you say that."

Owen threw her a grateful glance, "I just… I don't want either of them to get into something they can't handle."

"I know. But we can handle it. Plus, with the changes Jack wants to implement in Torchwood they won't be as at risk as they would have been, so there's a chance that they'll get to really raise their child."

Owen made a noise, neither agreement nor disagreement. Toshiko dropped her hand and rested her head on his shoulder, relaxing against him. Owen took one of her hands into his two and held it there, just enjoying the feel of her with him. Then she said quietly,

"And maybe you'll get the chance to be a proper uncle."

Owen felt himself stiffen and his gaze unfocused as he let the words sink in. Then he let out a slightly shaky sigh and said,

"Does have a nice ring to it. 'Uncle Owen'."

He couldn't see her face, but he knew Toshiko was smiling.

* * *

><p>Gwen awoke to the sound of a voice floating into the bedroom. Rhys' voice. Only he was doing some sort of impersonation. She frowned in confusion for a moment as she lifted her head, glancing at the clock and noting that it was 12 in the afternoon –her weekends had become sleeping in days to an extreme degree since joining Torchwood –and then she heard him say,<p>

"Expelliarmus!"

Ah, of course. Rhys was still reading the Harry Potter books to Michaela. He had started when she had been catatonic months ago and had resumed the practise when she had started accepting visitors in Providence Park, and then later back at Ianto's. They now limited themselves to a few chapters a week, either here or in Ianto's. Both seemed to enjoy it, and wanted to extend it. Rhys had even given her the box set of the books.

As she clambered out of bed and made a face at herself in the mirror, Gwen admitted that at first she had been uneasy about it. Her mind had hissed that if she could cheat on Rhys, Rhys could cheat on her. But she had realised that she was not giving her fiancé the credit he deserved. She could, and had, cheated on Rhys, much to her lasting shame. But Rhys was not like that.

If nothing else, Michaela had been very vulnerable and Rhys would never have dreamed to take advantage of someone like that. So Gwen had found herself relaxing and rather enjoying seeing Rhys' daft face full of pride when he came home or after he had seen Michaela out. He enjoyed his time with her, he enjoyed the books –not the kind Gwen would have expected him to enjoy but there you go –and he enjoyed that she just let him talk and listened. Gwen knew he got annoyed when she started to tune him out. She did try to listen, but sometimes he would go on and on about something boring and she just could not keep her focus on it.

Not wanting to bother the two, Gwen quietly slipped into the bathroom for a warm shower, taking her time and reminding herself that she wanted to go to the spa soon for a facial and a leg wax. She wondered if inviting Toshiko and Michaela would be an idea. A kind of girls' relaxation day. Maybe they could order the whole day deluxe treatment –they could all afford it thanks to Torchwood. Probably something to be done before any… 'bumps' could get in the way.

Gwen was still trying to wrap her head around the situation in Ianto's house. Ianto was with Jack, who had been with Michaela who had been with Ianto before and after Jack and was now having Ianto's baby and Ianto and Michaela were dealing with depression and… Gwen's head started to hurt. She worried that the addition of the baby would make things difficult for all of them.

Then again maybe they would all end up in some bizarre three-way relationship.

Except… didn't Michaela fancy Andy? Wasn't she hoping to date him?

Gwen had tactfully kept her mouth shut about Andy, because she did not want to cause upset, but a small part of her burned with protective insult on Andy's part. Whichever way things went, Andy was in for a very unpleasant surprise.

Gwen shoved that thought out of her head before she went into the living room, not wanting to disturb the cheery, escapist atmosphere Rhys was able to create for these reading sessions. Neither Rhys or Michaela looked up, and she went to make herself some toast, trying to be quiet.

"'I believe you, Potter,' said Professor McGonagall curtly. 'Put on your dressing gown –we're going to see the Headmaster.'" Rhys said quietly and then he fell quiet. Gwen glanced up to see him setting down the book on the coffee table. "So, until next week then."

Michaela nodded, curled up next to him on the couch. She seemed utterly relaxed. Gwen smiled with pride at her fiancé's skill with people. They were all quiet for a bit, the only noise was Gwen making some tea.

"Owen gave me a scan today." said Michaela quietly. Gwen's head snapped up at once.

"Oh?" asked Rhys encouragingly. Michaela made a noise of affirmation,

"Mmhm! He said it looks healthy. I was worried the antidepressants might have… hurt it."

"Well that's great."

"Jack thinks it's a girl. It doesn't even have eyes yet, or proper fingers."

Gwen smiled, easily able to imagine Jack saying that.

"And then he made Owen dance to the Tigger song."

Gwen nearly dropped the kettle, "Say again?"

Michaela peered over the couch and grinned at her, "Ianto save the CCTV, fear not."

Gwen beamed, "Brilliant! Tea, pet?"

* * *

><p>Chapter 5 coming soon…<p>

Remember, all reviews and concrit are really, really encouraging and uplifting, even if you're commenting on an issue.

Night's Darkness


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about missing last week, but I was recovering from eye surgery.

**Also:** I'm not a writer who holds chapters for ransom, but I would like to ask for more people to leave me more feedback. It's not that I don't appreciate the comments I've gotten so far, I appreciate every comment I get, positive or negative. But I feel I'm not getting a good feel for what you all think of the fic, and it really does guide me in writing. Not that I'll necessarily change plot, but it lets me know I'm going in the right direction, or if I need to work something else in, or take out another bit. Plus, it is really uplifting to know you're doing the right stuff or helpful to know you're missing something.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 <strong>

(6th May 2009)

"You just like him because he's Irish."

"No! I like him because he's experienced, he's got a good record and he's a freakin' Ranger!"

"So?"

Ianto repressed a chuckle as Michael let out a wordless growl of annoyance at Owen, who was needling her with great enjoyment. It was cute that she always went pink when irritated. Still, mother of his child and all that, so…

"Owen, quit riling her. He's a good candidate."

"He's cute too." said Gwen eyeing Ianto's computer screen as she joined them from her own desk. "Who is he?"

"Captain Torin Ó'Scalaidhe." answered Michaela,

"Or Torin Scully to us." said Ianto with a wry grin. Michaela threw him an irritated look before continuing,

"Irish Ranger, good record, 29 years old, top of his training class, and the solo champion of the annual Special Forces Competition."

"Which is admittedly impressive, considering that competition is held in Ireland every year because, much like Eurovision, it's held in last year's winning country." said Ianto, shaking his head.

"So… he's the best of the best, literally?" Gwen looked impressed.

"Yup."

"What are you thinking?"

"He's a perfect candidate to work with Ianto as a field agent, but also he's potentially good for a security officer in the archives."

"So he's basically going to be Mr. Worf." said Ianto leaning back in his chair and swaying it from side to side.

"I prefer Tuvok." Michaela shrugged.

"You're both such dorks." sighed Owen shaking his head.

"So… how're you going to feel him out?" asked Gwen, taking her eyes off Ó'Scalaidhe's picture.

"We're not. We'll go to Dublin sometime next week and meet with him. From the information the rangers have, he seems to know not to shoot every alien he sees."

"Wait, he already knows about aliens?"

"The Rangers are the Irish Torchwood." said Ianto with a shrug.

"Y'know, after Torchwood Dublin vanished." said Michaela bitingly.

"You still think the English had something to do with their disappearance, don't you?" sighed Ianto.

"I've never found evidence to the contrary." was the calm reply as Michaela picked up her coat and pulled it on. "Right! I'm off to see the shrink."

"Say hi for me." called Ianto as he rolled his chair back to the desk and minimised Torin Ó'Scalaidhe's profile.

"Will do."

As the sirens at the cog-wheel door switched off, Gwen turned to Ianto with a small grin,

"Cute, an accent and a Captain. Jack might be jealous."

"Or he'll suggest a threesome." sighed Ianto, rolling his eyes as Owen gagged on his coffee.

"Fuck's sake Ianto! Don't need that image in my head."

"Why not? You've regaled me about your threesomes."

"Oh really?" chimed in Toshiko who had been working on her computer.

Owen blinked, then muttered, "Fuck's sake Ianto!"

* * *

><p>(7th May 2009)<p>

Archie strode across the Hub and slapped his hand on Gwen's desk, making her jump.

"Let's go lass!"

"Huh?" Gwen blinked at him feeling stupid as she had no idea what he wanted.

"We're going site-hunting! Not as exciting as Weevil hunting, but then again, less ugly too."

"Oh… now?"

"Aye, now. Didn't you see my note?"

Gwen looked down at her desk which was covered in paper. "Uh…"

Archie reached out and plucked a small post it note out of the piles, handing it to her. It said, 'Site-hunting, 11am. Archie.' Not only was it very abrupt, but it was on a pink post it shaped like a butterfly. "…oh."

"Well, c'mon now! No time like the present."

Gwen had never actually been alone with Archie yet, and she had a feeling the post it was just the tip of the iceberg. But she nodded and decided he was right. This was part of her job now, so she would do it.

"Ok, just let me grab my things."

Archie nodded and sat down on the couch, opening a newspaper and burying his nose in it. Gwen noticed it was a Scottish newspaper and rolled her eyes as she smiled. Between the Scotsman and the Irish woman there was enough nationalism to fuel a parade in Torchwood now.

"Right, let's go!"

"Great."

They took Gwen's car since the SUV might be needed for more important work and Archie directed her to a site he had found which seemed to have potential.

"Seems to be a decent size, 's a pity that we can't expand on what we have at the moment."

"We'd probably have to build over the Millennium Stadium."

"Aye, and god forbid we interfere with the welsh and their rugby."

"Exactly!" Gwen grinned.

"I suppose we are meant to maintain secrecy, so… we'd probably not get away with that if we build on the Plass."

"No, not really."

"I'm still not sure how this'll all work." sighed Archie. "I picked this site, but, being honest here lass, I have no idea what we actually need. The Hub holds everything, especially the Archives and Rift Manipulator. We can't just move 'em, we'd probably blow the Rift if we tried."

"Wasn't there a suggestion that we have connecting tunnels?"

"Yeah… so maybe the Hub is like base camp and is given more security since we won't be in it as much…"

"Sounds like we'd need to find a way to build a tunnel from our site to the Hub."

"There's a few already going from the Hub outward… and I picked this site because there was one. But still… I'm uneasy about abandoning the Hub."

"Well… if we're going to expand, we'll need more room. We're on top of each other already, and if we're bringing more people it'll be worse."

"Hrm, true."

Ianto brought around the new batch of coffee, pointedly ignoring the pout on Michaela's face when he gave her peppermint tea, and then made his way to Owen's desk where he was playing a game Ianto did not know.

"Have you started your list yet?" he asked him as he set down the coffee.

"What list?"

"The list of potential new medical people you would like to bring in as co-workers."

"Oh yeah, that."

"You haven't started yet, have you?"

"Nope."

"Well, you'd better get it done soon. Jack and Archie want everyone on top of this thing."

"I'll get to it in a bit."

Ianto sighed and reached out, hitting the escape button on the keyboard.

"Hey!"

"Get some work done."

"Piss off! You're not my boss."

"Is it so hard for you to just try and do your job at a normal rate?"

Owen glared up at Ianto and curled his lip, "Don't tell me how to do my job tea-boy."

"Boys, quit it!" called Michaela from the couch.

"Oh what are you gonna do?" demanded Owen irritably.

Michaela didn't even look up as she said something quietly to Dubhtach. The wolfhound got to her paws and ambled over to Owen. In a flash the dog had moved so her mouth was right in front of his crotch and she growled, baring her teeth.

"Jesus!"

"Dubhtach, heel." called Michaela, still reading a file. Dubhtach snapped at Ianto who stumbled back before returning to her mistress and lying docile at her feet. "Good girl." she said and took a sip of her tea.

"You'd seriously have that mutt chew our balls off if we don't stop arguing."

"Pregnancy hormones are unpredictable…" came the sighed reply.

Owen and Ianto shared a look and then Owen huffed and turned back to his computer.

"Ok, I'll start looking."

"Let me know if you need any help." said Ianto quietly. Owen nodded in gratitude as he opened a search engine.

* * *

><p>(8th May 2009)<p>

On the Friday Jack and Archie called the team to a meeting. Ianto passed around the coffee and sat on Jack's right. Archie was on Jack's left, perusing through a newspaper. The others filed in and sat in their usual places. Now only Michaela was missing.

"She's aware I called the meeting, yes?" asked Jack arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she knows." said Ianto.

"I just saw her running for the bathroom. She'll probably be along in a few minutes." Gwen said grimacing.

Ianto winced. The morning sickness was more like afternoon sickness.

True to Gwen's word, Michaela walked in a few minutes later, throwing Ianto an accusing glare as she picked up her peppermint tea.

"Ok, let's get started. Archie and Gwen think they've found a good location for our new base."

"Aye, but before we look at it, we probably should have a better idea of what we want from this base, what kind of facilities." said Archie, folding his newspaper.

"I think we could pass it for a medical facility of some kind. Like the Pharm." said Toshiko. Owen grimaced and rolled his shoulder at the memory of the place.

"That'd mean we could be in plain sight without much suspicion." said Michaela.

"I think we should have a part of the base where we can look after victims of the Rift or aliens, somewhere Owen can treat them, Ianto can administer Retcon, that sort of thing." said Gwen, tapping her notepad with her pen absentmindedly.

"Not a bad idea." Owen agreed. "A proper medical facility would add to the front of the organisation.

"We could also probably do with an area for the team, where we could bunk during long hauls." Ianto suggested, rubbing his neck, "That couch doesn't cut it in long stands."

"So a building for living and care the front, with the more dangerous stuff, like Owen's lab and Toshiko's computers, and the weapons in the back." Archie made a note on his pad.

"We can also build the cells for alien guests like Janet in there." Ianto added.

"And cells for any suspects." muttered Jack. Archie nodded and added another note. "Well if we have that, we'd be best not to put the pound near them."

"The pound?" repeated Gwen looking confused. Jack rested his hands on the table and said,

"After the trial, UNIT was so impressed by Dubhtach's training they asked if Michaela would train more dogs like her. I said we would debate it when you were well enough."

Michaela nodded, flushing as she recalled her breakdown at the hotel after the trial of the team. "You want me to set up a training system for more dogs to be able to sniff out alien devices?"

"Exactly."

"You realise Dubhtach only found that bomb at the hotel because I brought her downstairs and released her, and then didn't use any of the right commands to make her stop."

"Even so, we've seen what she can do. I think a few more like her would be a great help. What do you think?"

"So… I'd be Archivist and Dog Trainer." Michaela tilted her head to the side and then shrugged, "Ah, sure why not?"

Jack nodded, relieved that she had accepted it so easily. "By the time we're up and running the baby will be a few months old probably, so you'll be back off maternity leave."

"Aw, crap, forgot about that." she sighed. Ianto threw her and Jack a narrow eyed look and Jack winced as he realised he had implied that they would be keeping the baby and no such decision had been made. It really didn't matter either way in terms of time, because Jack doubted either of them would be in the right mood to be working if they gave the baby up.

"I want a proper hot house." said Owen, "If you want me to keep experimenting with alien plants, I need more space."

"It's probably worthwhile having it set up to be as easily contained as possible." said Ianto. Archie made a few more notes.

"And I want the best lab the world has ever seen."

"With sexy lab assistants?" asked Ianto innocently.

Owen opened his mouth as his eyes lit up, but froze and glanced at Toshiko who raised an eyebrow at him delicately, a little smirk on her lips. Owen seemed to hang in mid-air for a long moment before he snapped his jaw shut and glared at Ianto as if hoping to bury him six feet under with just a look. Ianto threw him a Cheshire Cat grin.

"Lab wanted… sexy assistants optional." said Archie in a faux-mutter. Gwen giggled as Archie looked up and asked, "Now, is it ok if I want the sexy lab assistants? Y'know, for good morale."

Jack laced his fingers together and propped up his elbows to hide his smile. Michaela just rolled her eyes.

"Anyway… what about the Archives?"

"What about them?"

"Ianto's done a great job down here and I've… well lets just say that the past few years were not wasted up in Glasgow. But we still haven't made a decision about what to do with the archives. Do we merge them or reorder them so that the most dangerous technology is in one place or is that more risky? Divide or unite, which is safer?"

"I think it'll depend on what kind of security we set up. It may be worthwhile waiting until we have a few more agents on board before we make that decision. After all, if Torin Scully works out he may have a suggestion that aids us. But we will need archival space in the new building at least." said Ianto looking at Jack, who nodded.

"Ok. Anything else?"

No one spoke.

"Alright, so we have at least a good idea of what we're looking for. Now, who'll build it?"

"If we source UNIT, that'll be asking for trouble." said Owen at once.

"Why don't we use local sources?" asked Gwen.

"What, average Joes?" asked Archie incredulously.

"Why not?" said Michaela shrugging, "Cardiff people already know there's something weird about Torchwood, why can't we take advantage of the fact that they're happy to ignore it unless it endangers them."

"Rhys knows some contractors from his work." said Gwen.

Jack looked at Archie who shrugged. "It does make sense. If we build with secret organisations we risk someone getting in, probably easier than if we use regular contractors. Not only that, if word gets out we're using local people, it might not be a bad thing. Might improve our reputation. We're currently known as 'Bloody Torchwood' and I have yet to hear any other description from a Cardiff local."

"I suppose if we draw up special contracts, pay them well… might work out."

"If we use different teams to build separate parts, no one contractor would have all the specs. We'd have to maintain a tighter control on the work, but that's not necessarily a bad thing." said Toshiko carefully.

"Ok, we'll think about it. There's no serious urgency. We'll do this properly." said Archie decisively and Jack nodded in agreement.

"Ok, so is there anything else?"

"Michaela and I are going to go to Dublin on the 15th to meet Torin Scully, is that ok?" asked Ianto.

"Have you cleared it with Dr. Hamilton?" Jack asked Michaela at once. She nodded.

"She thinks I'll be fine for a day or two, and it might be good for me to do it. I haven't been back in Ireland since I left seven years ago. Plus she'll be on the phone if I need her."

"Ok then. And how's the weaning off the meds?"

Michaela flushed but nodded, "Ok so far. I think keeping busy helps."

"Good. Let us know if you need anything."

Michaela nodded, still blushing.

"In the meantime, Gwen, Micka, you'd better come with me and Jack." said Archie with a jerk of his thumb. "We need to get in touch with UNIT to inform them of our intentions and since, Gwen, your job is gonna involve more interactions with them and Micka's used to dealing with them, it'll be good for the two of you to work together to ease Gwen in. Some of these UNIT lot can be right bastards."

"UNIT's fine. It's the politicians who suck. Especially the Pope." sighed Michaela as she pushed away from the table. Gwen's eyes widened to huge proportions as she followed, while Archie said,

"That's because you hate the Church."

"I'm Irish. Of course I hate it." sighed Michaela.

"You'd better hope this Torin lad isn't a devout."

"Ah, it'll be grand."

Jack chuckled and threw Ianto a grin as he left his chair and went with the three towards his office for a 'fun little chat'.

* * *

><p>I'll do my best to post again next week.<p>

Night's Darkness


	6. Chapter 6

A massive thank you to all the comments I got from readers, they were all really reassuring and encouraging. Keep 'em comin'!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

(15th May 2009)

_Samson Plank…_

"Lives in a mental facility, not unlike Providence Park."

_Logan Horsfall…_

"Nice bloke, but the trauma made him mute. Hasn't spoken a word since that day."

_Joisse Gardyner…_

"Pretty well off, retained her sanity, but has a limp. Doesn't need much checking in on."

_Julianna Skala…_

"Working as a secretary in a law firm, she took Retcon."

_Lorna Maciver…_

"Is a housewife to three kids. She wanted no contact, so we have to watch over her from a distance."

_Yiannis Finley…_

"Went back home to Greece after the battle. Sends a postcard every two months."

_Hua Kwan…_

"Retcon too. Lives in Surrey."

_Gopinatha Kulkarni…_

"Tried to commit suicide, had her stomach pumped, then changed religions. She's a Hindu now."

_Adrianna Akers…_

"Now a Librarian in Newcastle."

_Tori Victors…_

"Damn near bit off my hand looking for Retcon."

_Ondřej Pražak…_

"Runs a milkshake shop now, supposed to be doing really well. Milk is in apparently."

Jack listened to Archie's commentary as he read through the horribly short list. Eleven names. Adding Ianto to it made twelve. Twelve survivors of Canary Warf still living, in some way or another. Out of over eight hundred. It was appalling. The original number had been twenty seven. Almost all the deaths had been suicides.

Jack shook his head in self disgust as he pondered how many of these people might have been salvageable if he had bothered to look after them. Archie and Michaela had done their best to help these people, but they were never the image of Torchwood, not like Yvonne and Jack had been. They were the odd cousins on the fringes of the organisation, the ones who garnered the least attention. Torchwood Four, which had been missing for eighty-six years had been given more attention than Two.

Jack's rejection of the survivors had been a symbolic rejection by Torchwood itself. As if the organisation itself was giving the survivors the middle finger and saying,

'Yeah we fucked up your whole lives, but we don't care. Piss off.'

If Jack had learned anything in the last year, it was that everyone should be given a second chance, and no one should be abandoned. He himself had been abandoned by the Doctor, so he should have been aware of the pain he was causing the survivors.

"Hey!"

Archie whacked Jack upside the head with a bunch of folders. Jack winced in pain and rubbed the spot while throwing Archie a glare. The Scotsman was utterly unrepentant. In fact he looked rather angry.

"This is not a pity party for you Jack. You wanted the list to see if you could help improve these people's lives. Well here they are. What do you see?"

Jack sighed and sat back, looking down the list again. "I see… I see you did the best you could. And I'm really not sure now if there's a damn thing I can do to add to it. Unless there's medical bills for Samson Plank, Logan Horsfall and Joisse Gardyner?"

"Yeah, because we left them to the public health system. Not like the Crown couldn't fork out the money."

"Archie, sarcasm isn't appreciated."

"Neither was your attitude that you could do better than me and Micka in looking after these poor bastards."

"That wasn't my intention!" snapped Jack.

"Aye. But that doesn't mean it wasn't the message conveyed." retorted Archie, giving him an irritated look. Jack sighed,

"I'm sorry. It wasn't what I meant. I just… I failed as a leader before, I didn't want to accept certain parts of this organisation. I need to rectify that."

"All well and good Jack, believe me, I get it. But that does not mean this is the way to go about it. Most of these people have severed ties with Torchwood as best they can. You going and interfering now would be most unwelcome."

"So… what should I do?"

"We keep watch over them. If they need help we can provide, we'll do that. Ok?"

Jack nodded and gave his counterpoint a grim smile. "How come you're wiser that me, and I'm older than you?"

"'Cause you don't age the way I do. Means you've not matured the same." said Archie with a frankness Jack had always bitterly appreciated. "Now, I'll go through these files with you so you can show you did actually read up on them if you ever meet them."

Jack nodded and sat back as Archie opened the first file.

" Now, Samson Plank…"

* * *

><p>Ianto groaned as he retched again into the toilet.<p>

"Oh god, kill me!"

"You big baby." sighed Michaela, resting a cool facecloth on his neck and rubbing his back. "It's just sea-sickness."

"Which I wouldn't have if we could have flown!" growled Ianto, his voice echoing around his head in the loo.

"Which I can't do, it's not safe to travel by plane in the first trimester. And if you dare blame me again, I'll decide it's your whole fault I've got morning sickness."

Ianto groaned again and closed his eyes. "I can't win."

"Oh grow up." Michaela told him as she rubbed his back again and then pulled him out of the toilet. "C'mon, you'll make yourself worse curled up like this."

Ianto sighed and let her wipe his face with the cooling cloth and then got to his feet. He swayed and grabbed her shoulders to stay steady. Michaela put her arms around his middle and held him up. "Let's go out into the air. No good in here, you'll just get worse."

Ianto was too miserable to argue as she led him along through the small ferry and out into the brisk air. It was an overcast, grey day, but the air did help his nausea as he inhaled deeply.

"This Torin Scully better be worth it." he muttered.

"Oh quit acting like a kid. You're the Chief Field Agent of Torchwood, could you please behave like it?"

Ianto sighed, "Sorry."

"It's ok, but stress plus cranky Ianto is no more fun for me than stress and cranky me is for you."

"Point taken."

"Well, I can see Howth, we're nearly there. Think you can hang on?"

Ianto nodded, not trusting himself not to vomit again if he opened his mouth. Michaela put an arm around his waist and slipped her other hand under his waistcoat, rubbing his stomach through his shirt. It was comforting as much as it was soothing and Ianto felt his tension slip away slowly as the ferry made its way into Dublin port. They had been up since 5 am, to make the 9:45am ferry to Dublin, having driven from Cardiff to Holyhead. Ianto suspected it was his exhaustion that was making him so miserable. He had slept badly last night, mind whirling with everything going on.

"Where're we meeting this guy again?"

"The Botanic Gardens."

"How far away is that?"

"I think about 15 minutes from the port. We'll be there in plenty of time. The meeting isn't until 1."

Ianto nodded, he had known that already, but he wanted to keep them both talking. It distracted him from his body and her from her anxieties. He did have one question though.

"Why the gardens?"

She shrugged, "It's nice, it's open so we'll be able to get more privacy, and… I just thought it'd be nice to go for something different. Be able to see how he reacts to the odd choice, y'know?"

Ianto nodded. It made a weird sort of sense.

The ferry reached the port and they were on the road in ten minutes. Michaela drove as Ianto sipped at some bottled Ice Tea to settle his stomach. He was feeling much better by the time they parked Torchwood Two's SUV and climbed out. Ianto had wondered if the car would stand out. He needn't have worried.

"You weren't kidding about the cars." he said eyeing the various types of 4x4's spread around the car park.

"Yup, remnants of the Celtic Tiger." she sighed as she opened the boot and removed a bag, passing it to Ianto. "C'mon now."

Already her accent was shifting to a stronger brogue. Ianto wondered if he did the same when he had moved back to Wales after Canary Warf. It wasn't a deliberate thing on his part, but he knew it was instinct to try and lose the accent that made you stand out when you wanted to fit in. It was the same reason why Michaela's accent always changed depending on who she was speaking to, she was always trying to appeal to the person by sounding more like them. She probably wasn't even aware she was doing it. Ianto had noticed it when he heard her talk to Jack, noting a twang of American that he had never noticed her having before.

Much like Wales, the Irish weather was very changeable. Where it had been dull and grey over the sea, it was now sunny and rather warm. The sun made the grass in the grand gardens gleam with a vibrant emerald green, amusing Ianto greatly as he looked around at the sculptures set in among the plants.

"You guys really take that Emerald Isle stuff seriously." he said. Michaela gave him a silent glare. Ianto gave her his cheekiest grin, which, after a few minutes made her smile against her own volition.

"Come on, I told him we'd meet him at the greenhouses."

Torin Ó'Scalaidhe was already there, waiting for them. He was tall, broad at the shoulders, with close cut dark hair. In civilian clothing he looked like any other guy, and not a special forces operative. But they knew his face from his pictures. And it was clear he knew who they were as soon as he spotted them. He grinned and at once Ianto knew Jack would both love him, and be slightly jealous of him. That alone sounded like reason enough to hire him.

"Torin Ó'Scalaidhe?" asked Michaela as they approached him, holding out her hand.

"Yeah, that's me." said Ó'Scalaidhe, shaking her hand, and then Ianto's.

"I'm Michaela Ó Murchú, and this is Ianto Jones." said Michaela. Ianto repressed a grin, he had never heard her use the Irish version of her name. Ó'Scalaidhe smirked and nodded,

"So… Torchwood?"

"Yep. Interested?" asked Ianto, arching an eyebrow. Torin laughed,

"Hell yeah!"

Michaela chuckled, "Well, let's go talk. Not just anyone can join Torchwood."

"So I've heard."

"Come on, we'll take a walk."

The three of them began to stroll along the pale paths. "So, how long have you been in the army?"

"I joined the reserves when I was 17. Worked my way into the Rangers over five years."

"College?"

"Geography degree, TCD."

"Trinity? Really?" Michaela seemed amused by this. "So… you're posh?"

Torin smirked, "Listen, do I sound posh?"

Ianto was going to go with no. Torin had an accent, it wasn't so thick that he couldn't understand him, but it wasn't going to be missed. Michaela smirked,

"You sound like a south-Kildare man to me."

Torin grinned, "And you sound like you spent some time in the Pale."

Michaela shrugged, "Only a few years. Still, it sticks with you, y'know. Besides, you can't talk, can you? Kildare was part of the Pale too."

Torin smirked, "Not my part."

"Ah, shite." she muttered. Ianto resisted the urge to scratch his head in bafflement. "Anyway, so, Trinity, then the Army?"

"I always planned on the army, but I got a degree for my mum's happiness."

"And what kind of training have you had in the army? What'd you specialise in?"

"Well, passed the Claustrophobia tests with flying colours, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, combat diving, different combat styles, bomb disarming…"

"And weapons?" asked Ianto, keeping his voice quiet so as not to attract attention. Not that there were many people around to hear them on a Monday afternoon in May.

Torin smirked, "Let's just say, I've never met a weapon I can't handle."

Ianto stared at him carefully, "I'd rather a list of the one's you've actually used."

Torin's smile dropped a little and he straightened his back,

"SIG P228 pistol, SIG P226 pistol, Walther PPK, Benelli M3T Tactical Combat Shotgun, Franchi SPAS-12, Heckler & Koch HK53, Steyr AUG A1, Accuracy International PM/L96 among others."

Ianto nodded, "We tend to use as standard a Compact M1911, have you used one?"

Torin nodded, "Not often, but I have trained with it."

"And your combat training, what did it involve?"

"Ground, clinch and stand-up, I can handle myself in an unarmed fight as well as an armed one."

"You can use knives?"

"Yes."

"And you're fully prepared to kill an alien or a human if it means saving the world?"

Torin nodded, "Done it before."

"You were in Chad earlier this year, weren't you?" asked Michaela, "Part of the peacekeeping forces with UNIT?"

"Yeah." Torin hesitated, eyes moving from Ianto to Michaela.

"Just so we're clear, we have access to your records. All of them." said Michaela. Torin nodded,

"Understood."

There was a moment of silence, during which three small children came running by and Ianto had a brief image that one could be his, and he wondered if he could give it up and live with himself. Torin's voice brought him back to the present.

"So… mind if I ask what exactly my duties would involve in Cardiff? If I get the job that is."

"We're in the middle of reorganising ourselves, expanding. We need more field agents. People who can handle the Weevils, the blowfish aliens…"

"The Dugar and the Jiorozh…" said Torin with a shrug.

"Exactly." said Michaela. Ianto looked between them and asked,

"How… how comfy are you with aliens?"

Torin shrugged, "Pretty grand. Half of 'em I'd heard about as a kid, y'know, during story time. And stuff I'd seen when I was young turned out to be real deal aliens, not fairies or changelings or selkies. So… I guess it made sense."

"In Ireland, alien encounters are pretty common but they're usually dismissed as either superstition, or encounters with the other world depending on what side you're on. It's a bit like how Cardiff people rationalise or just ignore Weevils and any other weird stuff." said Michaela, as if she had not already explained this to Ianto years ago when she had first explained the reality of aliens to him.

"Did you ever meet a Púca?" asked Torin. Michaela gasped and clapped her hands together like a girl,

"Oh, my Púca! I used to chase her when I was little, when I was living out in Kerry."

Ianto raised his eyebrows in surprise, "What?"

"Púca, they're shapeshifters, Jack calls them Emibi. There's a load in the west, they came through the Rift and bred like rabbits. They mostly keep to County Kerry, around the Tobar na nGealt, the Mad River."

"My commanding officer said it's because of all the lithium in the river. It's like their much needed mineral or something." said Torin.

"That's what Jack said."

"You used to play with them?" asked Ianto, surprised.

"They love pretending to be pixies or fairies, getting kids to chase them. They're playful."

"Sounds like the Mara." said Ianto carefully. Michaela shook her head,

"No, they're nothing like that. The Mara are intelligent, the Púca are more like puppies."

"They're harmless." said Torin in agreement. "They seem to prefer kids, because kids like to play with them, but there's never been a report of them causing harm."

Ianto said nothing, getting the odd feeling he would be unable to convince them of any different. Like convincing someone to reconsider a happy childhood memory, the nostalgia-goggles were hard to shift.

"So… think you'd be up to coming to Cardiff?" asked Michaela. Torin folded his hands behind his back, and looked thoughtful.

"Yes. I'd like to."

"What would you offer us as a member?" asked Ianto.

"I'm efficient, I'm tough and hard working. But I know when not to shoot an alien, as much as when to shoot."

Ianto recalled the trial of Torchwood Three, and the speech Michaela had given, using almost those exact words, to defend the team.

"Plus," Torin smirked, "I'm not as much of a sociopath as others in my line of work."

Michaela actually laughed, "Well, that's a plus."

They talked for a while longer, Ianto listening with interest to the two as they discussed various politics about the world and their own country, with some rather interesting names for their leaders.

"Uh, what does biffo mean?"

"Big Ignorant Fecker From Offaly." said Torin without batting an eyelid.

"And… that's how you refer to your prime minister?"

"Taoiseach." The two corrected. "And yes."

"Huh… better than anything we've got for ours."

"I did love how he tried to change it to Beautiful, Intelligent Fellow From Offaly." sniggered Torin. Michaela covered her face with her hands and snorted,

"Oh Christ, how pathetic."

Ianto checked his watch, "Well, Torin, I think we're just about done here."

"Ah, right, well, thanks." Torin shook Ianto's hand, then Michaela's. "I… I hope to hear from you, I really do."

"We'll let you know our decision, either way." said Michaela, accepting Ianto's offered arm, nestling her hand into the crook of his elbow. Ianto felt himself settle again at her touch. "Nice meeting you, Torin."

"And you. See ye around."

They parted ways, Ianto leading Michaela away and they moved towards the car park.

"I like him." she said brightly.

"I can see that." said Ianto, wincing at his own tone.

"Jealous?" she teased, squeezing his arm and smiling up at him. Ianto smiled ruefully, and shook his head in a bit of a lie.

He wasn't jealous, he told himself as Michaela drove them to their hotel. At least, he wasn't jealous that Torin might try something, or that Michaela would respond. It was more the ease the two had shared, the light way they had chatted, which he sometimes felt he and Michaela lacked, because they were trying so hard to get along. On a sudden impulse, as the car was parked at the hotel, Ianto's hand snapped out and rested on Michaela's stomach. Michaela jumped, then glanced down at his hand and covered it with her own.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Are we? Ok, I mean?" he asked back, looking at her face. Michaela smiled and squeezed his hand, nodding,

"We're ok. We're doing fine."

Ianto believed her, and relaxed.

"Good."

* * *

><p>Reviews are always encouraging, so please keep 'em coming. It's a big help knowing what you guys think.<p>

Night's Darkness


	7. Chapter 7

Please keep the comments coming guys, I know it's a slow starter fic, but I promise it is all going to start kicking off next chapter and getting your comments is very encouraging.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 <strong>

(16th May 2009)

Gwen came bouncing into the Hub that morning, looking bright-eyed and well shagged.

"Good news!" she called.

"Naked Tuesdays have been made legal!" said Jack at once. Archie snorted,

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what you'd all love, me wandering around, bare arsed with my big belly wobblin'."

Toshiko grimaced as she giggled, while Gwen flushed and swatted at Jack's arm. Jack made a show of collapsing under her attack, then bounced back up, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"What's the good news?" Owen asked irritably.

"Rhys and I have set a new date for our wedding. The 29th of August. So save the date, you all have to come."

"And Rift permitting, we shall." said Jack, knowing better than to argue. Archie sniggered into his folder. Gwen reached out and plucked it out of his hands, making him blink stupidly up at her.

"Don't think you're not invited too Mr. McGregor." she said cheerfully, "And Michaela and Ianto of course. Maybe Andy could be Michaela's date."

"Hrm, yeah, I can just see it now. Michaela, Andy and the bump." said Owen sardonically.

"Andy's a nice guy, he might be ok with it, if Michaela's really serious about going out with him." said Gwen.

"She's not even told him yet."

"She will." said Archie, "Give her time, she will."

Owen made a noise of disbelief, and then went back to his computer. Gwen and Archie shared a look of frustration, then they both went to work. Jack shook his head and went back into his office.

Meanwhile Toshiko was busy on her own computer, a small smirk on her lips.

"Now I know that look." said Owen quietly as he sidled up to her, taking a break from his work. "You're up to something Ms. Sato. What is it?"

Toshiko looked at him and smiled, "I'm baiting Mr. Steuben."

"Who?"

"Philipp Steuben. He's a computer hacker and programmer, with a PhD in Engineering, and he is good." Toshiko had a look of excitement in her eyes that made a stirring of jealousy form in Owen's gut.

"So, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"I'm baiting him, testing him. I think he could be good for Torchwood, he could probably keep up with me, and since Jack and Archie said we could hire whomever we choose, I'm trying to see if he'll suit."

Owen glanced at the picture of Philipp Steuben that was in the top right corner of the computer screen. He was dark, with clever eyes and a little knowing smirk.

"Where's he now?"

"In his native Germany."

"German?"

"Yup. Don't worry, his record says his English is impeccable."

"What's Jack think?"

"I don't know, I only discovered him yesterday, I'm testing him now. If I like how he handles it, I'll bring him to Jack and Archie's attention."

"Jack likes to hand pick his own people, you know that."

"So? This is my department, he said I could pick my own people. And so far Steuben is the best I've found."

Owen knew he was starting to annoy her, so he snapped his mouth shut and said nothing more about it. He should really know better than to worry about Toshiko's loyalty to him. After all, she wasn't the one with the bed hopping reputation.

"Ah! You've just reminded me lass!" said Archie out of nowhere behind them. They turned to look at him, "Remind me to pass on someone's CV to Ianto and Micka when they get back. An old associate passed on her name, and she might be exactly what they're looking for."

Toshiko nodded, "When will they be back?"

"Tomorrow. They're making a stop over in O'Connell Street."

"What's there?"

"Torchwood Four's old base."

* * *

><p>Ianto spared a glance at the General Post Office on O'Connell Street, noting the marks in the Doric pillars. Bullet holes from the Easter Rising in 1916, just six years before Torchwood Four vanished off the face of the Earth. He followed Michaela down the street, and they turned left, and then right, to a small, unnoticed door in a boarded up building.<p>

"This is it?"

"What did you expect? A Tourist office?" she asked, pulling out a set of keys and opening the door. They stepped inside and quickly closed the door so no one would notice them going in. Ianto felt a giddy feeling bubble up, rather like he was a teenager, breaking into a forbidden place to snog his girlfriend. His hands moved to Michaela's hips as they bumped together in the narrow corridor, and she squeaked in surprise.

"What're you doing?"

Ianto burst into a fit of giggles and couldn't respond. Michaela shook her head and took his hand,

"C'mon you daft sod."

They walked down the corridor and up a flight of stairs, into a room that held old couches and a coffee table.

"This is where they would have their tea."

It was full of dust, but otherwise well preserved, almost as if they had only been gone a few weeks, not almost a century. Michaela wandered in, a mixture of ease and awe on her face as she cut a line through the dust with her finger. Ianto, getting himself under control, looked around. It was very homey, the kind of room he could imagine little old ladies gathering after church to have tea and cake.

"You've been here before." said Ianto. Michaela nodded,

"I popped in to explore after… after you went to London."

Ianto nodded, his mind skirting past the bad memories of their parting. They were good now. He sighed, looking around the room, "Maybe when Cardiff is built up, we'll be able to spend real time looking for them."

Michaela nodded, hand rubbing her stomach idly. Ianto stepped closer and reached out, resting his hands on her hips again. Although Michaela had put on a lot of good weight on in the past few weeks, she was still slim enough, and his hands were large enough, to allow him to stretch his thumbs over her lower belly, rubbing gently. He stared down at her stomach, and Michaela covered his thumbs with her hands, forming a triangle where her thumb and fingertips met, almost mirroring the shape of her womb, within which their baby was growing. Ianto sighed and leaned forward, resting his brow against hers.

"We're not going to give it away. Are we?" she whispered, closing her eyes. "You've been thinking it since we saw the baby on the scan."

"No matter how many times I tell myself it'd be better for the baby for us to give it up to people who are better, I know I couldn't stand it. I… I want to be the dad to this baby. I want… I want to try and be a good dad."

Michaela sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Thank God. I don't think I could do this without you… but I couldn't give it up either."

"I know." Ianto buried his face in her shoulder, finally accepting the truth he had been fighting. Ready or not, he was going to be a dad, and he was going to do his best to be a good one. He pulled his head back and Michaela met his eyes. They share a moment of certainty, and their lips met in a kiss of promise and hope, lingering just long enough to convey the love they did feel for each other. Then they pulled apart and Michaela wiped her cheek, pushing away a tear. Ianto inhaled deeply, feeling like a weight had come off his chest and he could breathe again.

"We shouldn't call it It." Michaela said out of nowhere.

"What?"

"I don't like calling the baby it."

"Well, we're not going to be able to know the sex until-"

"I don't want to know until the baby is born."

"Uh… well, then we've a bit of a conundrum."

Michaela gave him an irritated smirk and swatted his shoulder, "I mean, we should give the baby a nickname."

"Like what?"

"Something we can use after it's born, regardless of its sex."

"Like… Titch?"

"…no."

"Erm… squirt?"

"No."

"Goldfish?"

Michaela stared at him like he was mad. Ianto sighed, "I'm not good at nicknames."

"Well, what did your mum call you when you were little?"

"Love, or cariad. It's Welsh for sweetheart. Yours?"

"Ka-ka when she was drunk. Otherwise, nothing."

"Ah… not much help there."

"Well, your mum called you cariad, what about a Welsh or Irish word?"

"What's the Irish for sweetheart?"

"Best I can think of is 'mo chroí'. Means my heart."

"Bit sappy."

"Yeah."

They fell into an awkward silence, almost embarrassed by their failure. Then Ianto tilted his head to the side, and sniggered.

"What about Cletus?"

"What?"

"You know, Cletus the Foetus."

Ianto had to dodge a punch to the arm. Michaela shoved at him even as she giggled. Ianto pushed back, almost fencing with their arms, trying to catch her wrists. His legs hit the couch and he yelped as he stumbled onto his bum, pulling her with him. Michaela squeaked as she dropped into his lap and collided with his chest. Ianto wrapped his arms around her as they laughed, cuddling her close until they got a hold of themselves. They relaxed for a moment, then Michaela thumped his chest.

"No. Bad Ianto."

Ianto grinned and pressed his lips to the side of her head. Michaela yawned and snuggled into him,

"What about monkey?" she asked sleepily.

"Monkey?"

"Yeah, our wee Monkey."

Ianto felt a warmth spreading through his chest and he tightened his grip on her, one hand slipping to cover her belly.

"Monkey. Yeah. I like it."

* * *

><p>(17th May 2009)<p>

Jack greeted Ianto's return with a heartfelt snog which left him blushing and ducking his head to hide the smile.

"How'd it go?"

"We're keeping the baby!" Ianto blurted at once.

Jack blinked at him, then said carefully, "I meant with Torin Scully, but that's just as good. So… you're both agreed?"

Ianto nodded, "We can't give Monkey away. We want to be the kind of parents we wished ours had been."

Jack nodded, "I understand. But… monkey?"

Ianto flushed again, "We, uh, we didn't like calling the baby it all the time. So we're calling it Monkey."

"Ianto, that tail is probably gone by now."

Ianto gave him a narrow eyed look of annoyance. "Funny. We like it."

Jack grinned, slipping his arms around Ianto's waist, "It's cute. But you'd better hope this kid likes climbing."

Ianto gave him as close to a pout as Jack had ever seen him. Then he put on his professional face and said, "Torin seems like a good call. He's friendly, he's skilled, and seems like he would be able to fit in well. Apparently he and Michaela both played with Emibi as kids. Did she ever tell you that?"

"No! Seriously? Lucky girl." Jack grinned, "They're like the equivalent of dogs on their homeworld, if you can imagine that all dogs are as brilliant as Dubhtach."

"That's what they said too."

Jack regarded him carefully, "Are you jealous?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"It's just… they were easy with each other and I'm not used to that with her. Normally introducing her to a strange, good looking guy is a bit of a battle, in her head I can practically hear the alarm bells warning her he could be just as bad as Blaine. But she was fine with Torin. I couldn't keep up with them –partially because they talked too fast and partially because I didn't get the jokes. Like… something about a turkey… and a dustbin?"

"Sounds like a two-fold." said Jack sagely, "You're jealous because you two are on eggshells with each other –which I promise you will get better if you relax. And you don't realise it was because you were there she was relaxed."

"You think?"

"I know. She's told you a thousand times Ianto, she feels safe with you. That is why she was relaxed with Torin. With you around she was in no danger."

Ianto made a face that clearly told Jack he was trying not to feel pleased at this. Rolling his eyes, Jack herded Ianto into the Main Hub with him, asking loudly,

"So, Torin's a good candidate?"

"Yup. I think we should take him on." Michaela said, scratching behind Dubhtach's ears. The wolfhound was wagging her tail most enthusiastically.

"Shouldn't you check out a few more before you select him?" asked Jack. Archie snorted.

"You don't even conduct interviews. You see what you like, screw with their heads and if they're mad enough to still follow you around, you hire them."

Owen and Gwen both blinked and then scowled at Jack accusingly. Jack shrugged without remorse,

"I need to know they're dedicated."

"You need to know they're daft." said Michaela.

"Speaking of daft, what's the story behind the turkey and the dustbin you apparently discussed with Torin?"

"Dustbin?" Michaela looked baffled for a split second, then she laughed, "Oh! You mean Dustin the Turkey!"

"Do I?" asked Jack. Michaela nodded, grinning,

"Dustin's awesome! He's a real Dub turkey puppet. Used to host the Den, which was like… the Irish equivalent of Nickelodeon. Dustin and Socky were the puppets, along with Zig and Zag, and Podge and Rodge."

"Wait a minute… Dustin the Turkey…" Gwen looked into the air for a moment, then looked at Michaela. "Didn't he get sent in to Eurovision last year?"

There was a moment where Michaela said nothing, then she drew herself up and said with careful dignity, "We don't speak of that. Ever."

"What was that song he did again?" asked Gwen, warming to the subject as she grinned, "It was something Italian, or Spanish, I think. What was it?"

Michaela glared at her, "It didn't happen!"

"Yeah it did, and you hid under a pillow for the whole performance." said Archie, rolling up his newspaper and prodding her with it. Michaela flushed. "And it wasn't Italian or Spanish Gwen, it was French; 'Irelande Douze Pointe'."

"Shut up!" Michaela was bright pink now, Jack bit on a grin as she snatched the newspaper from Archie. "It didn't happen."

"Personally I thought it was genius. But then I actually got the joke. You didn't." said Archie, smirking.

"There was no joke. It was just everyone being eejits!"

"The whole song is making fun of the points system."

"Eurovision is just a joke anyway." said Owen, "It's a stupid competition."

"It wasn't originally." said Jack, "It was meant to be a way for war-torn Europe to get along in a light way. The fact that it's still going means it still serves that purpose."

"Even if it is in an ironic 'Lets see which country can be the campest' way." said Ianto in a deadpan voice.

"Nothin' wrong with that." said Jack, slipping his arm around Ianto's waist.

"In any case," said Michaela, still pink in the face. "Dustin remains awesome. But he should stick to Christmas songs."

"…your lot are nuts." said Owen decisively. Michaela pulled her feet up onto the couch, tucking them under her bum as she gave Owen a depreciating look,

"You have plenty of puppets in your culture too."

"No we don't."

Michaela held up a fist and flicked up a finger as she counted off, "Bill and Ben, Andy Pandy, Sooty and Sweep, Basil Brush, Stingray, Thunderbirds… ever heard of any of these?"

Owen scowled in embarrassment, sharing a look with Ianto. Had someone discovered their new ritual?

"Puppets have been around for thousands of years, they're probably older than writing." said Archie, "But I particularly like Podge and Rodge."

"Because they're as rude as you." said Michaela.

"And?"

"And nothing, just making the point." Michaela opened the newspaper and began to peruse it. "Oh, by the way we're keeping the baby."

"Shocker." said Owen in an eerie impression of Ianto's deadpan. Gwen looked between them wide-eyed.

"You two really are brothers."

* * *

><p>Chapter 8 coming soon…<p>

Can anyone name any more famous puppets? I had trouble remembering any more than those above. Which was your fave? Also, any names you have used or were used on you during pregnancy? I had to look up a list, I couldn't think of one except 'Bump'.

Night's Darkness


	8. Chapter 8

This is a bit early, but I've had a stressful week because, thanks to my surgeries, I'm really behind on my college work and am struggling to get everything done. My lecturers are being really understanding about it all, but it's still difficult and stressful so I'm not as happy as I could be. So I decided to post early to take my mind off things.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

(17th May 2009)

Gwen left the Hub at five o'clock, thinking about her plans to cook Rhys dinner, when a woman a little older than herself came up to her.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?" Gwen smiled at her, even as alarm bells started in her head at the fact that the woman had clearly been waiting for her.

"You work for Torchwood don't you?"

Gwen debated with herself about how to answer, since it was clear that pretending Torchwood was something she'd never heard of would be pointless to do to a Cardiff native. The woman cut her off, saving her the trouble,

"Look, I know Torchwood's real, and that you handle weird stuff. My name is Meiriona Pugh, I live in Caerau and there's some really weird stuff happening on my street."

"Surely the police-"

"The Heddlu think it's a coincidence, but I know it isn't. I want you to do something about it!"

Gwen regarded the woman carefully. She was tall, with a round face and light brown hair. Her light eyes were deathly serious as she stared at Gwen imploringly. She seemed sane, and she seemed determined.

"Ok, what exactly is it that's happening?"

"I live on a street with about 150 people on it. In the past three weeks, thirteen people have died, and every time they do, some of us on the street hear a scream."

"Like… these people are being murdered?"

"No. Most of the time they're in their homes, asleep, and doctor's have put the older ones to natural causes, while they keep looking for explanations for the two children who've died. But the scream isn't coming from the houses. It's coming from somewhere else. It sounds like it's coming from very far away, and it's… it's horrible." Meiriona shivered as she recalled the noise and then stared at Gwen. "It's not human. Some people are saying it's rabbits or foxes, or even dogs, but thirteen times we've heard it, exactly around the time the person has died. That ain't normal."

Gwen felt a tingle go up her spine. Her instincts agreed with Meiriona's assertion. Meiriona seemed to see this, because she held out a ring binder.

"Here, this is all the stuff I could get on my own. Look at it, then come and stop this. I don't want my children hurt."

"How many have you got?" asked Gwen as she accepted the binder.

"Three. Two girls and a little boy. They're terrified since one of their friends died."

Gwen swallowed, appalled that something was hurting anyone, let alone children. She nodded, "Ok. I'll take a look."

"Thank you." Meiriona looked relieved. "What's your name?"

"Gwen Cooper."

"Well Gwen Cooper, I hope to see you sticking your nose in my business very soon."

Gwen held the ring binder tight and had a feeling she would be.

* * *

><p>(18th May 2009)<p>

Owen scratched the back of his head irritably as he read over the autopsy reports for the first eleven victims from Caerau. The other two were still being examined.

"You look baffled. That doesn't happen often." said Ianto, setting a cup of coffee on the desk next to him.

"There's nothing here to explain why these people died. The first few were written off as natural deaths because they were all in their eighties or nineties. But by the time number six came along they started to get worried, but they haven't found anything in the blood or on the body to explain this."

"Do you want me to call the hospital where the bodies are being autopsied? Have them set up for you so you can check the latest deaths yourself?"

"Yeah, I think I'll need to. I can't find anything from this."

"I'll do that before I go down to the Archives. Jack wants me to look up anything that seems familiar about this."

"The screaming you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Surely that's preggers' job now."

"Well, she's not feeling well, so Jack let her have the morning off. And then she's going to see Dr. Hamilton."

"Ah, and how did the good doctor take the news of this unexpected blessing?"

Ianto whacked Owen upside the head lightly as he answered, "She's annoyed with us, but is prepared to help us deal with it. She's carefully monitoring Michaela's weaning off the meds, and seems happy that we're both doing ok."

"Well good. Now go make that call teaboy."

"Arse." said Ianto quietly, walking away. Gwen chuckled at them as she read over Meiriona's information again. There was something about this case that was familiar, but she could not figure out what. After presenting it to Jack and Archie, the two had told Gwen and Owen to investigate the deaths first. If they seemed suspicious, then they would go and take a look at the area. Owen and Gwen were now pretty sure they were dealing with something alien, but Toshiko couldn't find anything on the Rift monitor to suggest that something was there. But Toshiko was having trouble with the monitor. It kept fluctuating in around the Heliport, but they had checked five times and there was nothing there. So it could be that there was Rift activity around Caerau and the glitch in the monitor was causing it to be missed.

"Ok kids, what do we got?" asked Jack after a few hours of work.

"Owen and Toshiko have gone to examine the latest body." said Ianto, holding a folder.

"An eight year old girl." said Gwen quietly, holding up a photo from Meiriona's binder. Jack spared the photo a glance, then focused on Ianto,

"Anything from the Archives?"

"Not really. There's no record of this happening before. But I was thinking that there is something that… well seems familiar about the screams."

"I thought that too. But I can't remember what." said Gwen, biting on her pen.

"I was thinking about something Michaela and Torin said. They called an alien called an Emibi a Púca."

"An Emibi doesn't kill people Ianto."

"I know, but I was wondering, what if it's some sort of Banshee?"

"A Banshee?"

"She's a death bringer or something and she screams when people die." Ianto shrugged, holding up a folder, "This is from Torchwood Four. It speculates that the Banshee was real."

"Don't the Welsh have their own version of that?" asked Archie, frowning in thought.

"A Cyoeraeth is basically the same thing." said Gwen, "I read about them as a kid."

"She's a bringer of death." said Ianto, "And not everyone was supposed to be able to hear her. Only a select few."

"I suppose it's worth considering…" said Jack carefully.

"We've encountered gloves that can bring people back to life." Ianto pointed out.

"… good point. Ok, you and Gwen go check it out."

"You're not going?" asked Gwen in surprise.

Jack opened his mouth, but Archie beat him to it, "Jack and I are relearning how paperwork is supposed to look. Ianto and Micka are a force to be reckoned with now. I shudder to think what it'll be like when the pregnancy hormones really kick in."

Gwen snorted, while Ianto grimaced. "Men! C'mon Ianto. Let's go catch a Cyoeraeth."

"Let's take Dubhtach with us. She'll probably sniff out anything there."

"Good idea. She looks like she could do with a walk. Why didn't she stay with Michaela?"

"Apparently another symptom of pregnancy is a stronger sense of smell and Jack fed Dubhtach something that's given her unbearably smelly farts, so Michaela begged me to take her with me –god I wish I was kidding."

"Poor doggy. All gassy and banished from your owner's side." Gwen ruffled Dubhtach's fur affectionately, "Don't you worry, we'll get you a nice walkie and you'll probably feel all better."

Dubhtach stared up at Gwen with an almost patronising look. It amused Ianto no end as he started to drive.

Until Dubhtach let out a loud fart which quickly filled the SUV.

"Oh sweet Jesus!"

* * *

><p>Caerau was a pretty standard suburb, with two things of note. A Roman Villa had been discovered in the late 1800s, and there was an ancient hillfort overlooking the houses, almost hidden by trees. Ianto parked the car in the middle of the area and he let Dubhtach out as Gwen opened the ring binder.<p>

"Ok, there doesn't seem to be any particular pattern to this thing. The houses are all over the place."

Ianto put a collar and leash on Dubhtach, much to her obvious displeasure. "Let's walk around and see what we can find."

Gwen nodded and looped her arm with Ianto's as they started to saunter down the street, Gwen watching her scanner while Ianto watched Dubhtach who seemed to know she was on a job. There was a stillness in the air that did not suit the area, as if everyone were holding their collective breath. Maybe that was just shared grief.

"So…" Gwen said in that prying way of hers.

"Yes?"

Gwen grinned, squeezing his arm, "Have you thought of any names you might give the baby?"

"We're sticking with Monkey for now. After Monkey is born we'll pick something that won't make it want to disown us."

"What about a nursery, have you got the room with three of you in the house?"

"I dunno… we haven't really thought that far ahead. Mostly we're focusing on not panicking."

"Well… what about if Andy and Michaela end up together?"

"What about it?"

Gwen shrugged, "Look, I don't know if it will go anywhere, but even if it doesn't, Michaela will find someone, just like you have Jack, right?"

"I guess… I hope so. She deserves someone."

"Exactly. But… have you thought about what that'll mean for the baby?"

"What –you mean if she moves out?"

"Well, could you really fit another adult in plus the baby in your house?"

Ianto hadn't considered that. "I…"

Gwen looked up and him and her face softened, "I'm sorry pet, I don't mean to make you anxious, I just want everything to work out for you. And maybe if you think about this stuff, you'll be better prepared for when it happens."

"It's not a bad thought, but if I bring it up with Michaela I'm afraid she'll panic. She really wants to try with Andy, but she hasn't even told him she's pregnant yet. If I start talking about her and Andy moving in together she'll probably get lost in her head and just not do anything."

"Well, maybe you and Jack could talk about it and bring her in when she's ready."

"If I do that it'll seem like we're cutting her out."

Gwen sighed, "It's complicated, isn't it?"

"Yup. But we'll work through it. We have more of a reason now than ever to keep together and push on."

"That's good."

Dubhtach stiffened as she sniffed the ground. Then she let out a bark.

"What's wrong?" asked Gwen as Ianto looked down.

"She smells something alien." Ianto tugged on the leash and Dubhtach began to trot along, her long limbs helping her go at a great speed. Gwen and Ianto scurried to keep up with her. Dubhtach led them down the street and headed for one house that had an overgrown garden. Clearly it had been uninhabited for a while. An old 'for sale' sign was nailed to the garden wall, the sign bent slightly and weather stained. Dubhtach stopped at the gate, as she had been trained and whined in the back of her throat.

"Something's inside this house." said Ianto, reaching for his scanner. Gwen swapped hers for her gun, keeping it low and hidden so as not to alarm anyone nearby. "Got one life sign. It's… erratic."

"C'mon Spock, lets go find out what it is." said Gwen.

"Hang on, let me just check in with Jack."

Gwen nodded reluctantly, eager to find whatever was killing the people in this estate and stop it. Ianto flicked his comm. on.

"Jack?"

"_Go ahead Ianto. Found anything?"_

"Dubhtach's sniffed out something in an empty house. I've got one life sign of the scanner, but it's erratic, I can't tell what it is."

"_Do you want back up?"_

"I think we're ok. We're just going to look inside and see what it is."

"_Ok, Ianto, I know you've got your gun on you, so have it ready."_

Ianto flushed even as he pulled out his weapon. He always brought it with him on missions, even though officially he wasn't supposed to until Jack, Archie and Dr. Hamilton said he was ready. Gwen gave him a look that seemed slightly disapproving and rather amused.

"Right Jack."

"_We'll talk about that when you get back. Be careful you two."_

"Always!" Gwen said cheerfully, "Ready to go Ianto?"

Ianto unclipped Dubhtach's leash and stuffed it in his pocket. "Yup. Let's go."

They moved carefully towards the door and Dubhtach followed behind. Ianto quickly jimmied open the door and pushed it open. Gwen moved forward first, scanning for anything that moved. Dubhtach slipped between them and looked up the stairs, growling and making her way slowly up. Ianto followed the dog, with Gwen behind him, and they ended up in the landing. The peeling wallpaper looked like dandruff on the eighties carpet. Dubhtach sniffed at the carpet and shifted forward, her eyes fixed on the door to the main bedroom.

"The life sign is in there." said Ianto, eyes on the scanner.

"I'll go first. No offense, but you're an expectant parent. If I don't look after you, Owen, Jack and Michaela will fight for first place to kill me." said Gwen, holding her gun out. Ianto flushed but did not argue. She had a point.

"Ok."

Gwen started to edge forward and slowly pushed the door open. Ianto tried to see around her, but in the confined space of the narrow landing, he couldn't see past her. Gwen pointed her gun into the room, then straightened up in surprise,

"Oh! I'm sorry ma'am."

Ianto felt cold spread down his back. He shifted closer and peered around Gwen's shoulder. He could just about make out an old woman sitting at the window of the room. Her hands were moving slowly over her long grey hair, pushing a comb through it as she stared out the window.

"Gwen…"

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but can you look at us." Gwen's voice was calm, but there was an undertone which told Ianto she was aware of the danger. One life sign in the house, one woman at the window. There was no math needed. "Miss? Answer me."

The woman tilted her head to the side and lifted up her comb. It seemed to be made of silver and bone, heavy and large. She turned it a little and Ianto saw the sunlight glint off it, dazzling him a little. He blinked hard and squinted at the woman. Dubhtach growled at his side, and he tightened his grip on his gun.

"Gwen, we should… Gwen?"

Gwen did not react to his voice. Ianto watched as the woman lowered her comb and almost in unison, Gwen lowered her gun. Ianto felt frozen as the woman left the comb on the window sill and moved to the left, out of Ianto's line of sight. Gwen stepped forward, her gun dropping to the floor. Dubhtach barked, and Ianto rushed forward to pull Gwen back.

"Gwen!"

What felt like a block of concrete hit him in the chest and he crashed into the wall. His head cracked against the plasterboard and his vision blacked out as he sank to the floor. Dubhtach's barking filled his ears as he shook his head, trying to clear his vision. As his vision cleared he saw the black eyes of the woman stare down at him blankly, and the air in his chest seemed to freeze to ice. He stared up at the creature –it was no human –and waited in terror for it to strike a blow. Owen, Jack, Michaela all flashed across his mind, along with a near perfect recollection of his baby from the scan. Then Dubhtach leapt in front of him and barked loudly at the creature, who blinked and reached out a hand, catching Dubhtach's muzzle. Dubhtach let out a horrible whine of pain and her whole body jolted like she'd been electrocuted. With a whimper the wolfhound collapsed half on top of Ianto pushed back into the wall and looked around for his gun. But even as he spotted it, the creature walked out of the room and disappeared down the stairs. Ianto watched her go, heart hammering in his chest and then he looked at Gwen.

"Gwen, help me move Dubhtach, we need to –Gwen?"

Gwen ignored him. She had picked up the comb and begun to brush her hair with it, staring out the window with wide, vacant eyes. Ianto squirmed, trying to push Dubhtach off without twisting her legs.

"Gwen! Snap out of it. You need to –Gwen wake up!"

Gwen didn't blink, and continued to comb her hair.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9 coming soon…<p>

In case anyone wants to correct me about the Bean Sídh (Banshee) yes I know she's not exactly as Ianto described her. I've actually studied her and that's part of the point. People have something of a misconception about her I think, hence why Ianto is wrong. All will become clear soon.

Night's Darkness


	9. Chapter 9

*hides under desk* You guys are probably gonna be mad at me for this cliffhanger. Aaannnd you probably won't be happy to learn that the next update will in all likelihood be late. It's almost exam season, and I am behind in my work as it is. BUT! Once that's done, I'll be able to relax and write more! Might even have a double update if you're all really good and commenty…

Anyway, Enjoy! XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

(18th May 2009)

Ianto managed to coax the whimpering Dubhtach off him and get to his feet. His head was pounding and he could feel the bruising on his back begin to form. He touched his comm. and said quietly.

"Jack?"

"_Ianto! You ok?"_

"Uh… we've got a problem."

"_What happened?"_

Ianto shook his head and forced himself to speak properly, "We encountered a woman, but she's not human. She's done something to Gwen, hypnotised her I think and then she walked away. You'd better get Owen down here."

"_We're on our way, are you hurt?"_

"Just bruising. She threw me into the wall. And she hurt Dubhtach too. Looks like her muzzle is burnt."

"_Ok, can you see the woman anymore?"_

Ianto edged around Gwen, who completely ignored him and looked out the window. He scanned the street, and said,

"No. She's gone."

"_Let's hope she stays out of the way until we get there. How's Gwen?"_

Ianto looked at Gwen and waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't blink, just stared straight ahead, the silver and bone a stark contrast to her ebony hair that she was pushing the teeth through.

"She's still out of it, she's combing her hair with the comb the woman left behind."

"_Can you take the comb off her?"_

Ianto reached out and grabbed the comb.

"AH!"

"_Ianto!" _

Ianto yanked his hand away and stared down at the bright red skin, which continued to burn even after releasing the comb.

"I'm ok! But I don't think touching the comb is a good idea."

"_We're almost there."_ said Jack. Ianto was relieved that Caerau was so nearby. _"Just hang on."_

Ianto moved away from Gwen and looked down at Dubhtach, crouching down to check how the dog was. Dubhtach whimpered at him, her muzzle blistering slightly, and her big dark eyes looking for sympathy. Ianto scratched behind her ears, taking comfort as well as giving it to the dog.

"It's ok Dubhtach, don't worry."

He heard the screech of tyres outside and he straightened up again, checking out the window and seeing Jack and Owen racing up the street. Ianto knocked on the window, and they spotted him, rushing to the house and then Ianto heard Jack's footsteps on the stairs.

"Ianto!" Jack looked relieved to see him as he burst into the room. Owen's relief was also palpable as he followed. "What happened?"

Ianto explained as Owen scanned Gwen.

"Don't touch the comb." Ianto held up his red hand with a grimace.

"Jack there's some freeze spray in my kit, should look after that." said Owen. Jack fished the spray out and covered Ianto's hand so it was numb. Then he did the same with extra care on Dubhtach's muzzle, which earned an approving woof from the wolfhound.

"What's wrong with Gwen?" asked Ianto.

"I'm not sure. Her brain activity has slowed down, along with her circulatory system." Owen flashed his torch into Gwen's eyes, and then stepped back, "If I didn't know better, I'd have said she was going into hibernation."

"Can you wake her up?"

Owen gave an honest shrug. "I don't know. I don't even know what caused it."

Ianto frowned in thought, flexing his fingers. Then, "The comb! She flashed it in the light before Gwen took it."

"So that probably put her into a trance. It's probably some sort of telepathic manipulation." Jack murmured, eyes fixed on Gwen.

"So what do we do?" asked Owen.

"Can we move her?" asked Jack, reaching out and grabbing Gwen's arm. He yelled in surprise when Gwen lashed out and threw him across the room. Jack actually went through the plasterboard, his backside stuck in the wall. It would have been funny any other time. As it was Dubhtach barked and then retreated out of the room with a whine of fear, while Ianto rushed forward and pulled Jack to his feet. "I'm ok! Doesn't look like we can move her." he said quickly, rubbing his back.

"So what will we do?" asked Owen again.

"Owen, you stay here and monitor Gwen. Ianto and I will go back to the Hub and see if we can get any information on this thing. If you see anything, call us."

Owen nodded and turned his attention back to Gwen. Jack took Ianto's unharmed hand and together they left the house. Dubhtach had been waiting for them at the door, her muzzle white from the ice-spray, which made her look like she had gotten into a flour bag. She followed the two men back to the SUV and hopped into the boot like she couldn't wait to get back to the Hub.

"Some Head Field Officer I am." muttered Ianto as they got into the car. Jack sighed, he knew that was coming.

"Don't be self-pitying. You've just started, Archie and I knew it would take you a little time to get into your stride."

"Jack I didn't do anything to help her!"

"You had no idea what you were dealing with, if you'd tried to fight her, it sounds like she would have killed you. Gwen's alive and Owen's looking after her –we're going to go and find out what we're dealing with and save her."

Ianto swallowed, doubt gnawed at his insides, but he said nothing as they drove back to the Hub. Archie and Toshiko looked up with concern as they arrived.

"How is she?" asked Toshiko.

"We think she's been put into a trance, her body's activity has slowed down like she's gone into hibernation." said Jack as Ianto took out his gun and handed it to him, the magazine removed. "We need to figure out what we're actually dealing with."

The cogwheel's alarms went off again, and Michaela arrived, pale as she had been this morning, but looking better. Dubhtach bounded over to her at once and stuck her head out, as if showing what had happened to her.

"Heya Dubhtach –oh! What happened to your muzzle?"

"Good timing!" said Jack, getting Michaela's attention, "We've got a problem."

Ianto described in detail what he had seen and what had happened. When he was done, Archie was scowling, Toshiko looked worried and Michaela looked confused.

"That doesn't make sense!" she burst out.

"What?"

"The Bean Sídh isn't a killer. She doesn't kill people."

"Yes she does, you die when you hear her."

"No that's not it! She wails when someone dies. It's like… It's like she's mourning their death. She wouldn't be killing anyone."

"We don't know that this is a Banshee."

"It sounds exactly like one. An ugly old hag, combing her hair –that's a Bean Sídh exactly as she's almost always described. The fact that the comb burned Ianto's hand is further proof. You don't touch a Bean Sídh's comb, unless you like getting your limbs mangled."

"So why are people dying?" demanded Jack. Michaela scowled,

"I don't know. What's a Bean Sídh doing in Wales anyway?"

"She might've-" Archie began, but Michaela held up a hand, the other going to her stomach and a green tinge coming to her skin. She stood perfectly still for a second, then relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, false alarm. Go on."

Toshiko turned and moved into the kitchen as Archie said, "She might've emigrated in some way." Toshiko came back and offered Michaela a packet of dry crackers.

"I heard these help with morning sickness."

"Oh thanks Tosh, you're a star." Michaela took them and pulled one out, starting to nibble it. "Why would a Bean Sídh emigrate?"

"You're the expert, you tell me!" said Archie, stealing one of the crackers for himself. Michaela sat in Gwen's chair and thought for a minute.

"Well… there's a Welsh version of the Bean Sídh, isn't there?"

"A cyhyraeth, yeah."

"Is she the same in appearance?"

At the blank looks of the others, Michaela turned to the computer and typed a search in. Jack came up behind her and looked at the screen over her shoulder.

"Hrm… looks like the cy-hy-raeth," she half spelled it out, "is different in appearance. She looks more like a phantom, or a harpy. Also, it looks like she calls the name of the person as they die."

"Which would match what's happening in Caerau." said Toshiko, sitting at her own desk. Ianto shook his head,

"Meiriona never said anything about hearing someone's name in the scream."

"The fact that it's been described as a fox, a bird, a dog, is also consistent with the tales of the Bean Sídh." said Michaela, turning her chair around again.

"So… how does this help Gwen?" asked Ianto.

"We need to figure out why the Bean Sídh would give up her comb. Any story I was ever told about her, says if you steal her comb, she'll come after you. You said Gwen is actually combing her hair with it?"

Ianto nodded.

"So… does that mean Gwen is the new Bean Sídh?"

"You think Gwen's been given her killing ability?"

Michaela growled, "I already told you, the Bean Sídh doesn't kill anyone! She weeps for them."

"Then what's killing the people?"

"I don't know! But I don't think it's the Bean Sídh."

"Not every fairytale character is fluffy and good Michaela." said Jack impatiently. Michaela drew herself up and faced him, eyes flashing angrily,

"First off! She is a folklore character, not a fairy tale character. Big difference, you should learn it. Secondly, I am perfectly aware of how non fluffy such things can be. Thirdly, if she really is a Bean Sídh, then she is not the killer! So maybe we should see what else could be doing this."

"So you're saying the Banshee is just a coincidence?" asked Archie.

"I'm saying that maybe she's been trying to warn people about it! But she can't express herself until someone is dead."

"But where did she come from?"

"And more importantly, where did she go?"

"We'll have to go looking for her." said Michaela at once. "Maybe we can communicate with her."

"We are going nowhere." said Jack, "Because you are on desk duty, remember?"

"But if she's a Bean Sídh, she probably speaks Irish! And none of you can."

"Just to clarify, we're really going along with the idea that this thing is a Cailleach and all the folklore about it is true?" Archie cut in pointedly.

"A Cailleach isn't the same thing, but yes." said Michaela. "If puca can exist, so can Bean Sídh."

"Puca are Emibi! They're aliens that got dumped by the Rift and reproduced like bunnies! They aren't native to Ireland." said Jack irritably.

"All humans come from Africa! How long do you have to have moved somewhere else before your nationality changes? If you're gonna be that pedantic about it, then I must be Basque! That's where a lot of the original stone age Irish came from!"

"What's your point?" demanded Jack.

"Just because they were originally alien, doesn't mean they aren't native now. That means they can be a part of folklore and still be real. If they've been here long enough they were bound to seep into the culture. So yes Archie, we are going to believe it is real."

Dubhtach barked as if to agree, her big dark eyes staring up at Jack with complete conviction at her mistress' side. Toshiko spoke up,

"What if Michaela stayed in the SUV until the Bean Sídh is found. Then, once it's secure, she can try to talk to it."

"What are the odds she'll be able to speak at all, you said she was only able to make a sound when someone died."

Michaela scowled and shrugged, at a loss at how to answer him. Jack nodded,

"That settles that. You and Monkey are staying here. Ianto, you, me and Owen will go looking for this thing. Toshiko, can you keep an eye on the CCTV?"

"Sure thing."

"We'll take Dubhtach again, if she's up to it. She's the one who found her the first time." Ianto said decisively.

Dubhtach whined and tried to hide under the desk.

"Well… no confusion about how she feels about that idea." said Archie with a grin.

"Dubhtach, out!" snapped Michaela. Dubhtach made what could only be described as a grumbling noise, and remerged. Michaela crouched down and wrapped an arm around the dog, scratching her ears affectionately. "Just keep her safe Ianto."

Ianto nodded. "You keep researching the Bean Sídh and see what you can find on aliens that kill people in a manner matching what Owen's determined. You'll probably find it quicker than anyone else."

Michaela nodded, looking mollified at the compliment after Jack's slap down.

"Archie, if we don't get Gwen free in an hour or so, call Rhys and tell him she's not well, and we're looking after her. No point in him coming looking for her." said Jack.

"Oh joy of joys, I get to be the bad news bearer. Let me find my bullhorn."

Arriving back at Caerau, Ianto and Jack went to check on Gwen. Owen was sitting near her looking very frustrated.

"Well?"

"Michaela thinks it's a Banshee that we're looking for. We're going to go looking for it."

Owen got to his feet, "Look, Gwen's stable and there's been absolutely no change in her. Mind if I go out looking, and one of you stay here?"

"I'll stay." said Ianto.

"No. You're Head Field Agent, I'll stay with her." said Jack, determined to push Ianto into his new role. Ianto gave a start, then nodded.

"Ok. Let's go Owen."

Jack held out a hand, Ianto's loaded gun in his hand. "You'd better take this."

Ianto nodded and took it, brushing his fingers over Jack's palm. "Ok."

Owen followed Ianto out into the street. "So, what're we looking for exactly?"

"An ugly old woman."

"… charming."

Ianto checked his gun and tightened his grip on Dubhtach's leash. "Let's go."

"Right!"

The sun was starting to set. Dubhtach bent her head to the ground and began to sniff, circling around for a minute, then walking down the street. The two men pulled out torches and kept a careful eye out for any movement. It was half six, just after the usual rush of cars returning home and no one was around except them. Half way down the street, Dubhtach barked and looked up at the house they were in front of.

"Something's here." said Ianto. "You take the right, I'll go left."

Owen nodded and held up his gun at the ready. Ianto met his eyes and gave a nod. He gave Dubhtach the order to stay, and then they moved up the driveway and split up.

Owen would never remember what happened next clearly.

One second he was inching along the side of the house, gun out. The next second Toshiko's voice squawked at him of the comm. Dubhtach barked, and Owen was grabbed in a vice grip across the chest.

A sharp pain dug into his back, forcing the air out of his lungs, then again, and again, and again, the knife was slammed into his back. The pain blackout his sight, Owen choked on his breath, and then he was dropped to the ground, face first.

_"Owen! Owen!"_ Toshiko's voice came over the comm. then Ianto's joined hers.

"Owen!"

Owen coughed as he tried to catch his breath, "I-Ianto…"

Ianto's voice was almost as close as Toshiko's. Owen felt hands on his back, could hear Ianto panicking above him.

"Oh God! Oh God! Toshiko get an ambulance here now!"

"Ianto…" Owen tried to speak, but he couldn't breath properly. He felt the solid warmth of Ianto's body –when had he gotten so cold? –press near him as he leaned over him.

"Owen, please don't, please don't go. I need you to hang on, please!"

Owen tried, but he could feel himself slipping away.

"Ianto…"

"OWEN!"

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 10 coming soon…<em>

*refuses to come out from under the desk* I'm sorry!

Night's Darkness


	10. Chapter 10

So… it's been exactly a month since the last update. Sorry about that. But life was all consuming. Also, this chapter was damn hard to write.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

(19th May 2009)

_University Hospital of Wales -01:00_

Ianto's head was in his hands. His hands stank of blood, Owen's blood.

Jack's hands were heavy and hot on Ianto's shoulders. Toshiko's was cold on his knee.

The three of them sat on orange plastic seats in the University Hospital of Wales, waiting.

The paramedics had been able to stop Owen's bleeding, and had taken him straight to the hospital, going into emergency surgery as soon as they arrived. Ianto had gone in the ambulance, while Jack had been forced to wait until Archie arrived with Toshiko so they could go to the hospital, while Archie watched over Gwen and Michaela monitored from the Hub.

It was now six hours since they had arrived, for six hours Owen had been in surgery. It felt like a month.

'_Please… please don't let him die. Please don't let him die…'_

* * *

><p>(18th May 2009)<p>

_The Hub –Five hours earlier_

Michaela paced up and down from Toshiko's desk to the door to Jack's office, chewing on crackers to keep her nausea down. She knew well enough that Toshiko and Ianto were going to be about as useful as Gwen was at the moment while Owen was in surgery. Jack would probably be able to pull himself together if she really needed him, but Michaela decided to leave him for the moment, since Gwen's status was unchanged, and Archie hadn't seen a thing on the street, nor had Dubhtach sensed anything.

As it was though, she felt very alone. Owen was being looked after, thank God, but someone or something was still killing innocent people in Caerau, and it was Torchwood's job to stop it. And in truth, Archie wasn't in any shape to be hunting aliens, and she knew she would be risking her baby if she went out –much as she longed to meet the Bean Sídh she had grown up hearing about. This would never work. A overweight Scot, a pregnant Irish girl and a dog taking on a life-sucking alien and Bean Sídh. There was no way they would manage.

Owen's computer beeped and spat out some pages from the printer. Apparently he had been running tests on a strange substance found on the bodies and had set the computer to analyse it. But he had gotten distracted by Gwen. Michaela picked up the papers and scanned them, sighing when the conclusion was that the substance was unrecognised. That would normally mean Owen would investigate what it did, but Michaela had no idea where to start with something like that. So she put it in the small file Gwen had begun to build up before she had left the Hub with Ianto, for later examination by Jack.

She was reaching for the last cracker when she realised that there was, in fact, someone else who could help. And he probably knew what to do! With a little hop of excitement, Michaela grabbed her phone and pulled up the number.

"Hello?"

"Torin? It's Michaela, from Torchwood."

"Hiye, howareye?"

"Actually I could use your help. Have you ever dealt with a Bean Sídh?"

"… no more than moving her off if she starts hanging around a public spot, why?"

"We have a situation in Cardiff, and two of our agents are down. How'd you feel about starting work today?"

"… I can be on the next flight outta here."

"Good man! You got a laptop?"

"Indeed."

"I'll upload all the info we got to let you catch up."

"Ah grand! I'll see you in about three hours."

"Perfect. Cheers."

"No bother! Slán!

"Slán!"

Michaela hung up and dropped into her chair with a huff of relief. She debated continuing research on the possible aliens that could be killing people, or curling up on the couch and taking a nap until Torin got here. She had already scoured the Archives and pulled possible aliens they were dealing with. It felt wrong to nap while Owen was possibly fighting for his life. But if she was to help Archie run Torchwood until the news of Owen was given, she would need to be alert, and she was already feeling very run down.

"Bloody Monkey, making me sleepy." she mumbled, rubbing her stomach. A jaw cracking yawn made her decision for her. She set her phone on loud and curled up on the couch, childishly praying that Owen wouldn't die because she closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>(19th May 2009)<p>

_The Hub -01:00_

"That makes no sense."

"That's what I said! Jack didn't seem inclined to agree with me."

Torin shook his head, "The Bean Sídh doesn't kill people. She can't."

"So we're probably dealing with another alien killing people."

"Maybe… but that's dead weird about her screaming."

"Because she shouldn't be weeping over Welsh people?"

"Well, more that she only cries for traditional Irish families."

"The 'Mc's and 'O's of the old Irish culture."

"And the 'Fitz's and 'De's. The Hiberno-Norman families tried to make their presence acceptable by claiming she cries for them to."

Michaela nodded, leaning on Gwen's desk as Torin stood at ease, frowning thoughtfully. It felt wrong to have let him in without a proper introduction that Jack would have liked, with Myfanwy screeching overhead, and the team at work at their stations. But Jack liked the dramatics. Michaela could do without more of them right now.

"So… we should see if the victims have Irish ancestry." She began to turn to the computer, but Torin shook his head again.

"In that small an area, in Cardiff? Hardly likely."

"So… what is she doing here? I thought she was attached to the land, how'd she leave?"

"It's possible she followed an emigrating family, or an enslaved one."

"That's going back a long way." said Michaela, folding her arms. "Ok… what happens if a family dies out?"

"What'd you mean?"

"Like… say all the McCarthy's died off, what would happen to their Bean Sídh? Would she move on to another family?"

"I dunno. In fairness, we don't know if she's one or many."

"Only one has ever been seen at any time." Michaela said, sitting down in the chair.

"Yeah, but there's a theory that she's able to be in two places at once, or that she can teleport wherever she wants. So it might look like there's many, but there's only one. Which would mean you'd have to eradicate every Irish family to give her no one to mourn over, and unless you can bring back Oliver Cromwell, I don't think that's liable to happen."

"But if she was many, and if she came with a particular bloodline and that bloodline ended… what would happen to her?"

Torin shrugged, "Haven't a notion."

"What if the lack of Irish ancestry within her range frees her to mourn for anyone who dies? That might explain why she's screaming so much."

"Even if that's true, why would she give up the comb?"

"Maybe she's trying to do our job."

"Catch the killer you mean?"

Michaela nodded. "What if she's trying to do something about the killings, but the only way she could do that is by handing over some of her ability to Gwen."

"If that's true, then if we find her, we might be able to get your friend free."

Michaela grinned, feeling like she was getting somewhere. Torin stood up, "So, that's the game plan? Find the Bean Sídh?"

"Part of it. Only… I can't go anywhere."

"Why not? Can't this place not be left alone?"

"It can, but I think I'd be locked in a cell if I went after the Bean Sídh."

"How come?"

Michaela flushed and touched her stomach, "I'm pregnant."

Torin's face cleared at once, "Ah, and would I be right in guessing that Ianto is the dad?"

At Michaela's surprised face, he shrugged, "He seemed a bit… 'mine' about you."

Michaela laughed, "He is a bit. But he's getting better. We're not actually together. It's… ridiculously complicated, and we don't have time to discuss it now."

"Noted. So, you want me to head out and see what I can find?"

"Not yet. That's how Owen ended up…" Michaela shivered, unable to finish the sentence. Torin nodded, then gave her a scrutinising look,

"That wasn't the alien killing people, was it?"

"I don't think so. None of the others died of stabbing. Besides, Toshiko's computers haven't picked up any activity around the times they were killed, but there was a huge surge right where Owen was attacked, at the time."

"Something came through the Rift and stabbed him, then vanished. Does that mean we're dealing with a runaway Bean Sídh, a life sucking alien and an alien that's stab happy, all in one small suburb?"

"I think so."

"Well fuck that!" sighed Torin, pushing his hand over his hair. "Are you sure your other agent is safe then?"

Michaela shrugged, "Someone has to watch over Gwen."

"And there's no one else on this team to do the work?"

"Jack has to look after Toshiko and Ianto, while they wait for news about Owen."

Torin's disapproval was evident, but he said nothing about it. "We need more eyes on the area."

"Dubhtach is watching out."

"Who?"

"My dog."

"Your dog? What is this, the Scoobies?"

Michaela narrowed her eyes, "Hey! Dubhtach is a great help. You've never seen her on an alien retrieval."

Torin shrugged, "Ok, but is there anyone else we can count on?"

Michaela thought hard for a moment, then, "Meiriona!"

"The woman who brought this problem to you?"

Michaela nodded. Torin shook his head, "Bad idea. She's a civilian."

"But she's the one who saw what was going on. I bet she'd be willing to be our eyes where CCTV can't be."

"It's a bad idea. I should go."

Before Michaela could respond, her phone rang. Hoping it was Jack with news about Owen, she was concerned to see it was Archie.

"Archie?" she asked, then recoiled as a horrible scream nearly deafened her through the phone. "Archie?" she shouted over the scream. Archie said something but the scream drowned him out. It was horrid, pain filled, grief stricken, like a wounded animal. But under the noise, Michaela recognised the voice, Gwen's voice. Gwen was screaming.

* * *

><p><em><span>Caerau -1:30<span>_

Archie covered his ear, almost dropping his phone as Michaela shouted down the phone, almost deafening him. He backed away from Gwen, who was standing still, hands buried in her hair and her mouth open in a silent scream. At least it was silent to him.

"Lass! Stop shouting." he barked down the phone. Dubhtach cowered behind his legs, "If you can hear a scream, I can't, only you shouting."

Abruptly Gwen's mouth snapped shut, and she sagged against the window, her whole body trembling like she was having a seizure. Dubhtach barked and rushed forward, pressing her side to Gwen's legs as if trying to stabilise her. The machines monitoring her were going haywire. Archie almost shouted for Owen, then remembered himself, and in the next instant, the machines quieted down and Gwen stopped shaking. Her face was pale and sweaty and her hands shook as she lifted up her hand to start combing her hair again. Dubhtach backed away and returned to Archie's side as Michaela called,

"Archie! Can you hear me? Is Gwen ok?"

"I… I think she's ok, as much as she can be anyway."

"She was screaming."

"If she was I didn't hear a thing."

"You didn't?"

"No. I just saw her standing like a goldfish." Archie looked the Welshwoman over again, "She had a bit of a fit, but I think she's in no danger now."

"If she screamed, and I heard it, then that might mean someone else has died. We'll need to find out who."

Archie sighed heavily, "Yeah."

"Are you sure Gwen's ok?"

Archie shifted closer to Gwen, studying her carefully. His ancient field-training kicked in and he noticed something was different.

"She's got grey hair."

"What?"

"Just a few strands but… she didn't have them before."

"What about her face, or her hands? Has she aged?"

Archie had to press close to the window to get a good look. He shook his head, even though Michaela couldn't see him. "She looked drained, but not older."

"Well, keep an eye out for it."

"Will do. How's Torin settling in?"

"He's rarin' to go."

Archie nodded to himself, pleased at her tone. "Ok, good." He paused and glanced down at the street. Houses that had been dark were lighting up and people were coming outside, looking up and down. Panic was stirring as people called to one another.

"Shit, the street's waking up –there's Mrs. Pugh. They heard the scream too. They know someone's died. What do you want to do?"

"Me?" squeaked Michaela, "You're the Head of Torchwood."

"And you and Torin know more about this thing than I do. So c'mon Murphy, whatcha got?"

Michaela took a deep calming breath, "We have at least two, maybe three aliens running around that area. One is the Bean Sídh, one is whatever is killing these people, and the other is whatever attacked Owen. Torin and I were thinking that the Bean Sídh might be trying to stop the alien from killing people."

"So you'll have to research aliens that drain life without leaving a visible mark."

"Already done, I have it narrowed down to six, but that's only aliens we've encountered before. For all we know this is something we haven't seen before –Hang on!"

Archie heard her talking quietly to Torin, who seemed to have a suggestion. He heard Michaela gasp, then she came back.

"Archie! Torin thinks he might know what's behind this. I'll call you back!"

* * *

><p><em><span>University Hospital of Wales -01:47<span>_

Jack's voice buzzed insistently at his side, and he reluctantly pulled it out. Michaela's name flashed across the screen. He brought the phone to his ear.

"Micka, give me some good news."

"Jack! Torin thinks-"

"Who?"

"Torin Scully. Newest recruit, remember?"

"Oh… right."

"Anyway, he said he thinks he recognises what we're dealing with. A Lethifold."

"A whatnow?"

"It's a bit like a biological... cloak."

"… A cloak."

"That's just what it looks like." huffed Michaela impatiently, "The point is, Owen found some substance on the bodies that he was running through the system before… well, before. It spat out the results three hours ago and I put it into the file we have, but the computer didn't recognise it, and without Owen I didn't know what it was. But Torin says he recognises it from a series of strange deaths that happened in Tallaght two years ago. It's the only sign of a Lethifold's presence."

"So we know what we're dealing with?"

"Yeah. It's a flat, black… thing. Honestly it really does look like a cloak."

"How does it kill?"

"It covers the person's body, sorta suffocating them, while releasing a neuro-chemical which somehow allows it to suck out the electrical energy from the body, which is what keeps the brain functioning. That's why there're no marks on the body, this thing drains the brain like a battery and it's so quick it just shuts off. The whole body stops, it doesn't even know what's happened in time to fight back and cause a heart attack or a brain aneurism."

"Is there a way to stop it?"

"Projectiles don't hurt it, but Torin says we can set a trap. Once caught, it can be killed with high powered vibrations, which will cause it to fall apart."

"Do what you have to. I want that thing dead. What about Gwen?"

"We think the Bean Sídh is trying to catch the Lethifold. It's possible she's been damaged by a lack of connection to the land."

"Because she's not in Ireland anymore?"

"Yup. Torin said that he and the other Rangers found one floating in the ocean and she was half dead, but when they pulled her ashore she recovered almost at once."

"So?"

"Just… that's why she's doing what-"

"I don't care why that thing is doing what it's doing. I want it dead too! Let me be clear Michaela. I don't care what it is, I don't care if you feel connected to it. I want it dead, just like the Lethifold, is that understood?"

Michaela was quiet for a second, then said coolly, "Perfectly sir. I'll get right on that."

She hung up. Jack set his phone down and put his hand in Ianto's.

"Gwen?" asked Ianto shakily.

"Michaela's got her covered."

Ianto nodded, "Good. She'll save her."

Jack nodded too. No way was he losing two people today. No way!

* * *

><p>… yeah, Owen's fate is yet to be determined.<p>

Sorry! *hides under desk again*

Btw: Yes, the Lethifold is from Harry Potter. I always thought it was freaking terrifying in the description in 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them' and was sad they never turned up in the main story. So, yeah I don't own that.

Night's Darkness


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the delay in posting. My enthusiasm for Torchwood is at a low point at the moment, for many, many reasons. But I don't intend to stop working on something I've been planning for over a year. So don't worry about that.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

_Caerau -3:15_

Meiriona Pugh looked downright formidable as she glared at Archie. And that was in a nightdress and dressing gown. Archie shuddered to think what she was like when she was dressed and in control. The room was dark to keep from drawing attention to it from the upset people wandering around below on the streets. Blue lights flashed across the room like the world's most limp disco light, as an ambulance was parked in the street. The paramedics were wheeling out a body in a bag from a house, watched by people from up and down the street. But Meiriona had detached herself from the group and marched into the house Archie and Gwen were all but stuck in.

"Another dead body. Are you waiting for it to reach an even twenty before you do something?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"We're doing what we can." said Archie wearily.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Meiriona, gesturing with her chin at Gwen.

"Would you believe she's been possessed by a banshee?"

Meiriona seemed to puff up like a blowfish for a second as she gave Archie a narrow-eyed glare. Then she said, "That'd explain the screaming at least."

Archie huffed, "Not easily phased, are you?"

Meiriona's eyebrow jutted up, "I'm a woman born, reared and living in Cardiff. You really don't think I haven't noticed the weird shit that goes on around here?"

"Most are excellent at ignoring it."

"I'm not most. Are you at least getting somewhere?"

"Yes. We're short staffed I'm afraid, our doctor was stabbed-"

"I saw him being taken away with the ambulance from before."

"And we don't know what's happening with him. His brother and girlfriend also work for Torchwood, so they're out of commission too, and Gwen here… well you can see she's no use."

"There must be someone else left?"

"Aye, a pregnant girl, and a special forces Ranger who just got off the plane from Ireland. Oh and me, a big fat Scot. They've figured out what's killing people, they've figured out how to kill it. Now they're going to catch it."

"On their own? A pregnant woman shouldn't be putting herself in danger." said Meiriona, frowning. Archie made a small gesture of agreement. Meiriona drew herself up, "Let me help."

"You?" Archie shook his head, "No way. You're not-"

"I don't care if you say no. I'll still do it, so you might as well accept my help gracefully." Meiriona gave such a severe look Archie decided that he was far too sensible to say no.

"Well… ok. If you wanna help, you'll stay here and watch Gwen with Dubhtach."

Dubhtach looked up at Meiriona who seemed a little unnerved by the dog, but said, "Fine. Now get that monster out of my street!"

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

><p><em><span>University Hospital of Wales -04:00<span>_

"Jack…" said Toshiko quietly, nudging Ianto. A surgeon was walking up to them, pulling off her cap as she walked. She was small, almost dainty, but as she clasped her hands in front of her, there was visible strength in them.

"Owen Harper's family?"

"I'm… I'm his brother." said Ianto shakily. "This is his girlfriend, and my boyfriend."

"I'm Dr. Kalpana Courtenay. I was the lead surgeon on your brother's surgery."

"Is he going to be ok?" asked Ianto in a rush.

Dr. Courtenay nodded, "He's going to live."

Toshiko nearly collapsed with relief, grabbing Ianto's arm as Jack let out a heavy breath of relief.

"How bad was it?" asked Jack, hand on Ianto's shoulder.

"Your brother was stabbed close to the spine, which damaged some of his spinal nerves but his organs were missed. We've been focusing on repairing a few damaged nerves."

"Damaged nerves?" repeated Ianto. "What- Is he going to be ok? Are –are there any…?"

"We need to wait until he wakes up before we can determine the extent of the damage… but there is a chance your brother may be paralysed from the waist down. We can't say for certain yet."

"Paralysed?" Toshiko's voice sounded hoarse to her own ears. Dr. Courtenay reached out a hand and touched Toshiko's shoulder.

"Until we can run follow up tests we don't know if that's the case. And if it is there's a chance that he'll be able to recover most of his mobility."

"Most of his…" Ianto swayed on the spot, "Are you saying my brother might not be able to walk again?"

"As I said we won't know how extensive the damage is until he wakes up."

"Well, when will that be?"

"He's in Intensive Care now. He should be coming around soon, we want him to wake up quickly, so we can assess his condition."

"Can we see him?"

"We're going to get him settled, and then I'll bring you in to see him." Dr. Courtenay squeezed Toshiko's shoulder and walked away.

"Paralysed…" gasped Ianto, drawing in a shuddering breath. "Jack…"

Before Jack could say a thing, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it and read the text.

'_**Lethifold dead. Looking for Bean Sídh. M.'**_

Before Jack could really process this, the phone buzzed again and another message popped up.

'_**Is Owen ok?'**_

Jack swallowed and closed the phone, unable to respond just now. He put an arm around Ianto and pulled him close.

"It's gonna be ok Ianto."

Ianto fixed him with a glare, "Owen might never walk again Jack, how can that possibly be ok?"

"That isn't what the doctor said, she said he has a chance to recover. Now pull yourself together. You need to be strong for Owen now."

Ianto inhaled deeply and huffed out a breath, nodding, "Ok. Ok… I… I can do that."

Jack squeezed his hand, "Good. Now… I want you to stay here with Toshiko. I'm going to help out Michaela and Archie."

"Help… fuck! Gwen!" Ianto looked appalled. "I just… I just forgot-"

"It's ok. If anyone's at fault here, it's me. I should have kept working, but I didn't. But Michaela just sent me a message. The thing we were after is dead."

"Was it the same thing that attacked Owen?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't get that from her."

"What about Gwen?"

"Her and Captain Scully are working on finding that Bean Sídh now."

Toshiko slipped her arm through Ianto's. "Ok, go Jack. We're ok."

Jack nodded, kissed Ianto on the mouth and pressed his lips to Toshiko's brow before walking out with a swish of his greatcoat.

* * *

><p><em><span>The Hub -04:27<span>_

Michaela scanned the computer screens on Toshiko's desk. She watched Torin moving down the street, gun at his side.

"Nothing yet." he sighed as he moved. "Are you sure you can't detect it?"

"I've tried, but if it's never registered on the sensors before, it must not emit any rift residue."

"Well, for all we know it was born on this world."

"Could be a third generation emigrant." said Michaela with a little smile.

"The kind where we just have to put our foot down and say 'no, you're American, not Irish.'"

Michaela giggled. "Exactly."

She was so focused on the screens and Torin, that when the cog wheel rolled aside she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Jesus!"

"What?" yelped Torin.

Michaela looked around to see Jack entering the Hub, "Nothing, sorry. Just Jack."

"Bloody hell woman! Don't do that."

She winced, "Sorry."

Torin make a noise that indicated forgiveness. Jack joined her at Toshiko's desk and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"How's Owen?" she asked, having been forcing down her panic at not hearing anything from anyone.

"He's going to live. He may be paralysed though."

"Oh… well at least he's alive."

Jack grunted and pushed his shoulders back. "So, what have we got?"

Michaela turned slightly in her chair to face him without hurting her neck. "We got the Lethifold… actually wasn't that hard once we knew what we were after. Turns out they're pretty stupid. Anyway, it's dead. Archie and Torin are exploring the streets looking for the Bean Sídh."

"Who's watching Gwen?"

"Meiriona Pugh. She insisted on helping out."

"She's a civilian!" said Jack.

Michaela felt a flash of irritation, and she snapped, "She's helpful! You on the other hand have been sitting on your arse when Torchwood needed you. And I accepted it, I called in Torin, I let you be a worried friend and not a busy boss. But I can't go anywhere and Torin needed back up. Gwen needs constant monitoring, and Meiriona offered to look after her while Archie helped Torin. What did you expect me to do? Put Gwen at risk? Waste time with only one guy running around a potentially expanding terrain looking for one creature that none of our sensors can pick up? Tell me Jack, what would you have done?"

"… I'd have told me to wake up and do my job." said Jack slowly. He said it with a sense of begrudging acceptance, but it still stung. Michaela knew she really should have called him up.

"I wasn't sure how useful you'd be with your mind on Owen. You may bounce back from death, but I haven't covered that with Torin, and I certainly don't need to see it."

"Oi! I can still hear you two, what the hell are you talking about?" demanded Torin sounding alarmed. Michaela's eyes widened and her mind flooded itself with the word 'Oops.'

"Laddie, focus. We'll explain later." said Archie over comm. "Jack, you listening?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Get your arse over here now! We can't find this bloody hag, and there's no sign of whatever hit Owen."

"Not the Lethifold then?" asked Jack.

"A Lethifold doesn't have arms. It isn't capable of stabbing anything sir." said Torin.

"Noted, but don't call me sir. Only Ianto calls me sir." said Jack.

"Uh… ok."

"Captain Torin Scully, Captain Jack Harkness. Jack, Torin." said Michaela, zooming closer to his face with the CCTV so Jack could see him better.

"Pleasure." said Torin.

"Yeah." said Jack. Michaela looked up at him in surprise. Where was the come on? She wondered if it was because of Ianto or because of Owen. "So, Captain, any idea how to kill the Bean Sídh?"

"Captain, with all due respect, I don't think killing her is the right thing to do."

"It's taken over one of my team. I want it dead, Captain."

"But Captain, if we can catch her-"

"Captain follow my orders."

"Will you two stop 'Captain-ing' each other!" snapped Archie. "Jack, I'm sorry, but Torin has more experience with Bean Sídh than you. I think we ought to listen to him."

Jack huffed, his cheeks flushing. Michaela reached up and squeezed his hand, a flutter passing through her at the touch of his skin. Whenever he was close enough, she felt the urge to cuddle into his chest and relish being in his strong arms. But the way his hand shook a little she knew he needed her and Archie to be strong for him right now. Squeezing his hand tighter and resting her other hand on her belly, Michaela pushed her shoulders back and asked,

"What's your experience telling you Torin?"

"I've never seen a Bean Sídh do this to someone, but my gut is telling me that Agent Cooper must be linked somehow to the Bean Sídh for this to be happening. I'd be afraid of killing it until I was sure doing so wouldn't kill Cooper."

Jack's hand spasmed in Michaela's. She held on even as her back went cold like ice water had spilled on her and said in as steady voice as she could manage, "So what do you suggest?"

"Catch the Bean Sídh and bring her back to Gwen. See if we can convince her to undo whatever she did."

"Ok… do that then." said Jack lamely. Michaela couldn't stop a small smile. Jack always had to have the last word.

"Could use some help Captain." said Torin, "More eyes on the street the better."

"I'm on my way." said Jack.

"I'll keep looking on the cameras." said Michaela.

"Roger, Torin out." Torin flicked off his comm. and Michaela switched hers to one way, allowing her to turn to Jack and get to her feet.

"You ok?"

Jack inhaled deeply, then surprised her by wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. Michaela jumped in surprise, then sank into his arms, reaching up to hold his shoulders as he shuddered.

"We could have lost him." he whispered in her ear.

Michaela rubbed her hair against his, trying to comfort him, "But we didn't. You said it yourself, he's going to live."

"But he may not walk again." said Jack.

"So said a doctor without our sort of tech. There's always a chance we have something to help him." said Michaela, praying she was right.

"Maybe…"

Michaela braced herself and extracted herself from Jack's arms, "C'mon now. Pull yourself together and get out there. The sooner we save Gwen the sooner you can get back to the hospital and look after Owen. Ok?" Without thinking she reached up and chucked him under the chin like he was a child. The move startled him into laughing and he seemed to shake off the deflation that the attack had caused.

"You're right!" he kissed her forehead and then her lips. "Thank you."

"Go on, get!" said Michaela dismissing him with a wave of her hand before returning to her chair. She focused on the screens and tried not to worry.

Owen was alive and Gwen would be saved.

Everything would be fine.

* * *

><p>I hope to write more soon. But first, A REQUEST FOR HELP: Is anyone reading this an expert on spinal injuries that result in paraplegia (if that's the one where a person can't walk, but still can use their upper bodies)? I need treatment info, duration of recovery period, any and all info about it –plus emotional and mental issues caused by the loss of ability.<p>

Any and all help will be much appreciated.

Night's Darkness


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

(19th May 2009)

_Caerau -5:00am_

"To your left Captain!"

Jack turned on the spot and bolted down the street as Torin followed him, the two following a flash of silvery-green hair. The Bean Sídh was damn fast as she seemed to glide through the suburbs.

"Stop! Stop you green haired bitch!" Jack shouted after it.

"Mall síos anois." shouted Torin, sprinting ahead of Jack, who was astounded at the speed he was maintaining. The Bean Sídh seemed to stutter on her feet, slowing down and turning to look at Torin.

"Ha! No wonder she wouldn't listen." laughed Michaela over the comm. "She doesn't speak English."

"Fascinating." growled Jack as he caught up to Torin and aimed his gun at the Bean Sídh. "Now tell Miss screechy that she's going to go back and release Gwen."

Torin nodded, "Ok. Um… Téigh go dtí an teach agat, agus dean sláintiúil an bhean istigh ansin anois! Le do thoil."

The Bean Sídh stared at them unblinkingly, her hands raised as if prepared to cast a spell. She was the ugliest woman Jack had ever seen… and that was saying something. Her face was heavily lined, the wrinkled skin around her eyes almost hiding them. They were black eyes, empty and emotionless. She was skinny and worn looking, dressed in rags. She looked like a witch from nightmares. She stared at Torin, seemingly uncomprehending. Jack tightened his grip on his gun. Torin edged closer and lowered his gun slightly, "Maraiodh againn an contúirt." He beckoned to her.

"He's asking her to come back and heal Gwen." said Michaela quietly to Jack, "He's saying we killed the danger."

It seemed to be working on the Bean Sídh who edged closer. Torin smiled and said gently,

"Ba maith leat ag dul go dtí abhaile? Bogfaidh mé tú abhaile, teacht ar ais Eire."

"He says he'll take her home."

"What?" demanded Jack, irate that this newcomer was making promises to this thing.

"Jack, if she goes back to Ireland she'll probably never touch anyone. Torin said they're safe under normal circumstances. If we keep her here we're just going to cause her pain."

"Tough on her."

"Jack Harkness!" snapped Michaela, "Did I, or did I not defend you against UNIT by saying you were capable of seeing beyond the immediate and the strange? Do not make me a bloody liar because you're upset."

Jack was about to retort that this was different, but he cut himself off as the Bean Sídh lowered her hands and approached Torin. Her head dipped forward and she looked submissive. Jack hefted his gun higher, not prepared to be tricked. For all they knew this was the reason Owen was in the hospital. The Lethifold couldn't have done it. Torin backed away slowly and kept beckoning her, almost enticing her to keep following him like she was a puppy. Jack walked behind them, gun at the ready. They made their way like a row of ducks, joined by Archie, and continued to the house where Gwen was still trapped. Torin led the Bean Sídh up the stairs and gently herded Meiriona aside to avoid being touched by the Bean Sídh. The creature moved around to stand by Gwen and peered at her face, looking almost curious.

Then she reached out and held her hand under Gwen's hand holding the comb. Gwen slowed her motions and turned her head to look at the Bean Sídh. Then the comb was pulled from her hair and offered to the Bean Sídh, who pulled it from her hand. Gwen stiffened and then her legs buckled. Jack rushed forward and caught her,

"Gwen! Gwen, are you ok? Talk to me." he pushed her hair out of her face, making her blink up at him. She frowned in confusion then said quietly,

"Jack?"

Intense relief spread through Jack's body as he kissed Gwen's brow, hugging her close. "You're ok Gwen. It's ok."

"Wh-what happened?"

"You were possessed by a Bean Sídh lass." said Archie, grinning in relief.

"…Oh." Gwen looked around at the Bean Sídh who had curled up on the floor, hugging her knees with one arm and resumed combing her hair with the other. Where she had looked like a threat walking around the streets of the area, now she seemed small and weak. Jack held Gwen tighter and said stiffly,

"Captain Scully?"

"Yes sir?"

"Call your associates, have them take her back to Ireland."

"Yes sir." Torin's smile was audible as he pulled out his mobile phone. He would stay behind to sort out the Bean Sídh Jack helped Gwen to her feet and pulled her arm over his shoulder.

"Come on Gwen, let's get you back to the Hub."

"Ok." Gwen sagged against him, pale and exhausted, "I feel like I just ran a marathon. With the flu."

"Don't worry, we'll check you out… then you can go home to Rhys to rest."

"Great… for once I'll be happy to see Owen."

Jack hesitated as he realised he would have to explain that to her. He decided to wait until they were at the Hub, otherwise Gwen would insist on going straight to the hospital and there was nothing she would be able to do to help.

* * *

><p><em><span>The Hub -6:00am<span>_

Michaela greeted Gwen with a bear hug of relief, which Gwen returned but was clearly baffled by. After they scanned her, they were forced to explain where Owen was.

"We have to go see him!" Gwen said at once, hopping off the Autopsy Table. Her legs buckled and Jack and Archer grabbed an arm each and lifted her back onto the table. "Let me go!"

"Gwen, you've been drained of all your energy. You need to rest, or you're gonna end up in the hospital with Owen."

"Bollocks to that! We have to be there for him!" Gwen shoved at Jack, her movements more like a weak kitten than her usual fiery temper.

"Rhys is on his way to pick you up." said Michaela coming over to join them. "He's been frantic with worry."

"I'm not going home. I can't." Gwen stressed, "Owen needs us."

Michaela walked down the stairs and stood in front of Gwen, resting her hands on her knees.

"Gwen, just think for a second. All we're doing right now is waiting for news. Ianto and Toshiko are at the hospital and that's all they'll allow in to see him. So you'd just be waiting in the waiting room for news. Owen wouldn't want to know you made yourself ill, after an experience like this, waiting to hear news. He'd much prefer you were healthy and strong and ready to mother him."

"Owen hates being mothered." said Gwen sulkily.

"Yep. But if you start mothering him, he'll know you're fine, and then he can focus on just getting better and bitching all the way through."

"But he might be paralysed!"

"And if he is, we will need you rested and composed to help him." Michaela squeezed her knees and Gwen sagged forward. Michaela caught her and held her up. "C'mon, couch and Jack'll help you out to the car when Rhys arrives."

Gwen made token noises of protest, but she was too drained to really put up a fight as Michaela pulled her along to the couch, and they sat down together. Jack smiled with pride and looked at Archie.

"Thanks… you and Michaela really held your own today. I should have held it together, but…"

"Jack, it's been a tough year for you as much as anyone else. And you've gotten through it by holding your team together. It makes sense you'd lose perspective a little if that team was threatened. Just… learn from it and I'll be satisfied."

Jack nodded, grinning as Archie clapped his hand on Jack's shoulder and the two went to join the women.

"Ok, Michaela, I want you to go home as well, you and monkey need your rest."

"But what about Ianto and Tosh?"

"I'll join them when you're both on the road. Archie will you look after Torin? I think we'll be keeping him around."

"Aye I will. Also, I think we ought to think about maybe offering Meiriona Pugh a job. She was helpful, and has the eye for weird shit and a surprising tolerance for it. She might be worthwhile."

"We'll talk about it later." said Jack, although he had to admit it sounded good. "In the mean time we'll focus on Owen."

* * *

><p>Owen could hear the faint beeps of hospital tech, and his mouth was drier than a desert, as oxygen was pushed past his teeth with an oxygen mask. His throat, parched and sore, must have had a tube in it, he could almost feel the plastic sticking into the soft tissue, even though it was no longer there.<p>

He had to open his eyes…

A hand rested on his arm and a soft, accented voice, Indian maybe, said

"Owen? Can you hear me?"

Owen tried to speak, but all he managed was a croak. The soft warm hand slipped down to his hand.

"Can you squeeze my fingers please?"

Owen had to concentrate, but after a long moment of trying to stretch his brain out to his arm, he gave the fingers a feeble squeeze.

"That's really good. Now, can you squeeze again with your other hand?"

Her hand shifted to the other and Owen managed to squeeze again, although he still could not open his eyes. He knew he was in a hospital, but he could not remember why.

"Ok, are you in any pain?"

He managed to nod, finally noticing the ache in his torso. His back was thrumming with pain… but he could feel the effects of strong painkillers already at work. Panic flared as he realised he should not be feeling any pain at all if he was on morphine already.

"Is it here?" she touched gently under his back. He nodded. "Ok, I will give you something in a moment. I just want to check one thing. Can you feel my hands on your legs?"

Owen waited for her to touch them, but when the moment drew out and she did not, he frowned.

"Owen, I've got my hands on your legs, can you feel them."

Owen shook his head, his breathing increasing.

"Ok, Owen, listen to me, just take deep breaths. I'm going to give you some morphine, and you can go back to sleep. Don't worry, it could just be a result of the surgery. You're ok."

Owen wanted to demand more information, but he felt the cold burn of morphine passing into his veins and he found himself slipping away to nothing.

* * *

><p><em><span>University Hospital of Wales -06:10<span>_

Ianto nearly stumbled into the wall when the trolley bearing Owen rounded the corner and he saw his brother. Owen had always been small and scrawny, something he had gotten from their father. But he looked tiny and weak, like a child, as he lay on the bed.

Toshiko let out a soft noise, but her hand was strong as steel on his arm as they followed the trolley into a private room. As the nurses and doctors set up the equipment and settled Owen on the bed, Dr Courtenay came up to them looking through Owen's chart.

"Well?" Ianto prompted her. She looked up, her mouth strained.

"Ok, well we ran a few initial tests, he woke up briefly. He's retained mobility in his hands at least. But his initial reactions for his legs was less encouraging. He did not seem to be able to feel any sensations on his legs."

"So he is paralysed?" Ianto croaked, grabbing Toshiko's hand.

"We don't know exactly. It could be just temporary, we'll need to give him some time to heal from the surgery before we can definitively diagnose his condition."

Ianto sagged into the chair next to Owen's bed, head in his hands. Toshiko grabbed his hand and held it tight with her smaller, vice-like fingers.

"So what happens now?"

"We'll monitor him, and keep running tests to see just how much damage there is. He'll be out for a while yet, so maybe you should go get some rest."

"We're not going anywhere." growled Ianto. Toshiko nodded in agreement.

Dr Courtenay nodded in understanding. "Ok, well I'll be in the on-call room, and I'll be monitoring his progress through the night."

"Doctor!" Ianto called, looking up. Dr Courtenay turned back to him. "Is the chance of Owen recovering good?"

Dr Courtenay hesitated, looking up at the ceiling, looking more thoughtful than reluctant. "I believe that he has a good chance, but that it may be a difficult road." She looked at Owen carefully, "How stubborn is your brother?"

"Unbearably." Toshiko and Ianto answered at once. Dr Courtenay smiled faintly.

"Then I believe he has a very good chance."

"Thanks." Ianto said. She nodded and walked away. Ianto let out a heavy breath and got to his feet, going to Owen's side. "You hear that Owen, you just have to be yourself and everything will work out. Bet that's the first time being you is a good thing."

Toshiko let out a soft noise that might have been a laugh or a sob and Ianto turned to her. She was pale and tearful, her hair in disarray from running her fingers through it too much. Ianto moved from Owen's side at once and enveloped her in his arms. He had forgotten that while he was at risk of losing his brother, Toshiko had nearly lost her lover. He knew how much that hurt, and wished he had remembered while they were waiting for news.

Toshiko clung on to him and buried her face in his chest, but she did not cry. The door opened and Jack walked in, his eyes falling on Owen and he paled at the sight of him.

"Jack." Ianto called faintly, relieved to see him. "Is Gwen…?"

"She's ok, drained but good. The Banshee is dealt with, Torin is arranging for her to be sent back to Ireland."

"Torin?" Ianto had to think for a moment who that was. "Oh… Michaela called him in?"

Jack nodded, "It was a good call."

Ianto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think he'll be good for Torchwood."

Jack nodded, inhaling and looking at Owen, "Have we had good news?"

"Of a sort." said Toshiko, still resting her head on Ianto's chest. "The doctor thinks he may be paralysed, but that there's a good chance it'll be temporary."

Jack nodded, a furrow between his eyebrows, "Ok, ok, so that sounds positive."

"We won't know until he wakes up again. It'll be a while before we have more definitive news." said Ianto in frustration. Jack kept nodding.

"Ok, ok that's at least not bad news."

"You look like a bobble-head toy." Ianto told him as he rubbed Toshiko's back. Jack stopped nodding and gave him a crooked grin.

"Is there any point in suggesting you two go home and sleep?"

"No." Toshiko and Ianto replied as one.

"Ok. Well, get some rest in those chairs, I'll go get you both some tea."

"What about the Hub?"

Jack tapped his wrist band and said, "I'll know if something comes up. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Ianto nodded as he left and he and Toshiko sat down to wait once more, holding hands tight.

* * *

><p>Like I've said before, I've no intention of abandoning this fic, but I may have to change certain plans for it, otherwise it'll never get done.<p>

Night's Darkness


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

20th May 2009

Archie sat behind Jack's desk and regarded the soldier in front of him. Torin Scully stood at attention, eyes fixed on the wall behind Archie. Archie felt the irrepressible urge to mess with the man, no one should be so ridged looking. It was like the Queen's Guard outside the palaces, he just wanted to knock those damn hats off their heads and see what they would do.

Michaela, standing at his shoulder, nudged him as if she was reading his mind and disapproved of his mischievous thoughts. Typical really.

"Captain, your actions yesterday were very impressive. You managed to make sure there were no fatalities on Torchwood's part, human or alien."

"Thank you sir." Torin said smartly. Michaela twitched behind Archie and he glanced up to see her trying not to giggle.

"So, after a chat with Captain Harkness, we've decided we would like to offer you a full position in Torchwood."

Torin grinned, "Thank you sir, I'd be honoured."

"Great!" Archie clapped his hands in satisfaction. "Well, Michaela will sort your I.D. card and log you into the system. You'll be a bit dumped into the situation I'm afraid, considering our medic is in hospital and, as professional as Toshiko and Ianto are, he's their boyfriend and brother respectively. They'll probably be a wee bit distracted by that. But I'm sure you'll settle in well."

"Yes sir, thank you."

Archie glanced up at Michaela, looking for help with the formality of the other man. She rolled her eyes at him, and said delicately,

"Torin, no one's gonna be against your military manner, but we're not only more informal around here, only Ianto calls Jack sir, and… that's more their kink than a case of manners."

Torin frowned at her in confusion, then his eyes widened and he nodded,

"I see, so… drop the sir?"

"Unless you want to be invited for an all male threesome." said Archie, barely managing to keep his face straight as Torin tried to hide his boggling reaction. Michaela gave him a half exasperated glare as she walked around the desk and said,

"C'mon Torin, I'll get you settled in."

As Torin followed her, Archie found himself thinking that the two would probably make a cute couple, but then remembered that Michaela was interested in Andy Davidson. Had Micka told Andy she was pregnant yet? He doubted it, there would be tears that day, whatever Andy actually did. Sighing to himself, Archie picked up the receiver of the phone on Jack's desk and dialled a number. He leaned back in the chair and watched Micka introducing Torin to Gwen properly as the line rang. Finally the other side was picked up,

"Hello?"

"Good morning, is this Meiriona Pugh?"

"It is."

"Excellent, this is Archibald McGregor, Head of Torchwood Two."

There was a long, suspicious silence on the other side, before Meiriona said in a slow voice, "… yes?"

"I was calling to ask if you were interested in a job."

"… a job?" was the flat reply. Her dubious response made Archie grin.

"Yes, you see, we could use a local who would be willing to be a General Support. I've taken the liberty of looking you up and I see you've experience in the area."

"What, don't you have one?" she demanded, "Or did they die in one of your famous cock-ups?"

Archie raised his eyebrows, impressed, "Actually no. He's just been promoted to Head Field Officer. As good as he is, I don't want him thinking about his general support when he ought to be doing his actual duties."

"Why'd you want me?"

"Because you proved your courage last night, and before that, you proved your ability to see what others prefer to ignore. Two great qualities for Torchwood."

Meiriona was quiet. Archie decided to throw a line out. "You'll get paid triple what you earn now."

There was a half repressed intake of breath from Meiriona, but she stayed steady. "I'd need to consider it. And I'll need more information regarding what my duties would be, and what the risks would be. I can't just accept this job, I've got kids."

"I can respect that. Think on it for a few days, and I'll email you the details."

"Good. I'm sure you already have my email address."

Archie chuckled, "Yes, I'm afraid so."

Meiriona snorted. "Of course. Bloody Torchwood."

Archie was seriously beginning to think of changing the organisation's motto to that.

* * *

><p>Owen woke up, feeling more alert this time, in the hospital. But he did not have much time to process where he was, because Ianto and Toshiko were at his side, looking so relieved to see him awake.<p>

"How are you feeling?" Toshiko asked gently, brushing his hair back from his brow.

"Like crap." he replied shortly, squirming his shoulders.

"Easy, try not to move until the doctor comes. Jack's gone to get her." said Ianto, touching his shoulder. "Do you want some water?"

Owen nodded, grateful for the relief of the cool water. "What happened?" he asked as he lent his head back on the pillow.

Toshiko and Ianto looked at each other warily, and finally Ianto said, "You were stabbed Owen. Do you remember?"

"Stabbed… no… I…" Owen squinted up at the ceiling, and he inhaled sharply as he remembered someone's arm across his chest. "Someone grabbed me."

"A person? Human?" asked Toshiko anxiously. Owen nodded slowly,

"I think so… felt human… I think."

A woman came into the room and picked up his chart, pulling a pen from her pocket. Jack popped his head in after her, glanced around and then said,

"I'm going to let the others know you're awake Owen. Ianto and Toshiko will be with you."

Owen nodded weakly, feeling somewhat relieved. He was not sure he wanted Jack here until he knew what was going on. Having Toshiko and Ianto with him was disconcerting enough.

"Hello Owen, I'm Dr Courtenay, I'll be looking after you."

Owen looked her up and down warily, then nodded. Dr Courtenay walked up to stand near his head,

"Ok Owen, since your brother said you're a doctor, I'm going to explain this to you as thoroughly as I can. No dumbing down, ok?"

Owen nodded.

Dr Courtenay tucked the chart under her arm and rested her hand on the railing of the bed.

"Ok, you were stabbed with a single edged knife that was probably about 5 inches, three times in the back. The damage is all posterior, with the worst wound around the T9 and T10 vertebrae and you've suffered incomplete lesions on the nerves. You suffered internal bleeding, but luckily the knife didn't hit your lungs or diaphragm, and we were able to repair the bleeding. So our primary concern is your nerves and spine."

Owen swallowed hard and tried to move his feet. If he managed it, he could not feel it. He inhaled shakily and looked at Toshiko, who seemed to read his face and squeezed his hand. He did not look at Ianto, choosing instead to look at Dr Courtenay.

"So, what's the prognosis?"

"We need to test your reflexes and your sense of touch. Now, I want to reassure you that there is a good chance of at least partial mobility being recovered, and we won't necessarily know just how much damage there is until the swelling goes down."

"So this might only be temporary?" asked Ianto urgently. Dr Courtenay nodded,

"Possibly, but full recovery would probably be months away."

"Well what the fuck am I supposed to do until then?" demanded Owen, "My job isn't exactly going to accommodate this."

"Owen, I know this is a lot to take in, but you're not going to be able to go back to work for at least a few weeks, depending on a lot of variables. My job, along with the physiotherapists and neurologists, is to get you back to heath, and right now, that is your only job too." said Dr Courtenay firmly.

Owen glowered at her, but nodded. He inhaled and suddenly felt very tired.

"Get some rest Owen, we'll do the tests when you wake up again." Dr Courtenay said gently. Owen wanted to protest, but he was already nodding off.

"Tosh…" he asked, squeezing her hand.

"I'm here Owen."

"Take Ianto home. Idiot needs his pills."

"Are you sure?" asked Toshiko, while Ianto made a noise that Owen was too tired to decipher.

"Yeah. I'm… I'm not going anywhere. Ianto?"

"Ow'n?"

"Tell Jack not to hire a new doctor, I'll be back."

His eyes were closed, but Owen could hear Ianto's smile as he said, "I will."

Owen managed a smile as he went back to sleep.

* * *

><p>Jack drove Ianto and Toshiko back to Ianto's house. They were both exhausted, having not slept at all while they waited for Owen to wake up. Ianto fumbled his door open and let Toshiko go ahead of him. As she moved into the kitchen where she and Michaela greeted each other quietly, Ianto held Jack back and looked at him.<p>

"Why didn't you stay in the room?"

Jack sighed quietly. He had been expecting this question.

"Ianto-"

"Were you that freaked out by it? Because… I really need you with me Jack, because if Owen's really paralysed… God I'm going to need your help."

Jack slipped his arms around Ianto's waist and held him close. "I know. And I'm not freaked out about it –I'm upset of course, but I wasn't hiding from it. But I know Owen, and I knew he wouldn't want me there, he probably felt vulnerable enough with you and Toshiko there. You know what he's like."

Ianto tilted his head and nodded, "Ok. I figured as much, but I wanted to be sure."

Jack chuckled, "All that therapy must be working."

Ianto gave him a weak smile as they moved into the kitchen. Michaela had made tea and toast and was serving Toshiko as they went in. When she saw Ianto she dropped the knife and rushed up to him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight.

"I'm sorry!" she said into his chest. "But he'll get better. I'll scour the Archives for something that can help."

The quiet gratitude on Ianto's face made Jack smile as he wrapped an arm around Toshiko and snagged a slice of toast.

"Thanks. And thanks for letting me be with Owen. Jack says you and Archie did a great job."

Michaela flushed and beamed at him. "Well, we had help from Torin and Meiriona. Archie's even offered Meiriona a job as General Support so you can focus on your job as Head Field Agent."

"So in the course of a single night, you've gained us two new members?" asked Ianto dubiously. Michaela nodded with a smile.

"Yup. I've sorted Torin out with a password and shown him the armoury, but I told him to wait until tomorrow for a full briefing at the earliest. I know you and Jack will want to go through stuff with him, but I didn't think you would be up for it today."

"You weren't wrong, but what about the Rift?"

"All's quiet, so Archie said he would mind the Hub today and sent me and Gwen home. Torin is looking for a new place."

"Ah… organisation. Music to my ears." Ianto dropped a kiss on the top of her head and then his hand dropped down to touch her stomach carefully. "And all's good here too?"

"Monkey's fine too." Michaela said with a soft sigh, "Aside from making me ill as usual. So, from what Toshiko said Owen's prognosis was pretty good all things considered."

"We won't know more until Dr Courtenay runs some more tests. But maybe we'll be lucky enough and he'll be able to recover."

"I did some research, admittedly it wasn't much, but from what I read was if it's spinal cord shock, then that's a very recoverable thing. Is that what it is?"

"I think that's a possibility. But again, we don't know." There was a faint hint of impatience in Ianto's voice.

"Right, right." Michaela quickly backed up and held up the plate of toast. "I bet you didn't eat at the hospital, here."

Ianto nodded and took the plate. He started nibbling on the corner of a piece and Michaela backed up a bit more and sipped at her tea. Her phone rang and she quickly answered it,

"Hello? Oh heya Torin!" She listened to Torin, then gave a giggle, "Oh, yes, I can see why that'd be a problem! Just look for somewhere near the Hub –oh wait, hang on… we're moving. Uh… hmm…" She nibbled on her fingernails as she thought hard, finally pressing the phone to her chest and asking, "Ianto, what's a good part of Cardiff to live? Like, is it a North/South thing, or what?"

As Ianto replied, Jack took out his own phone and went out of the kitchen to call Archie.

"Micka spilled the beans about Meiriona yet?" was how Archie answered.

"I thought we agreed we would discuss it first." Jack said irritably.

"I know, I know, but I decided it'd be better to go for her interest now. I've every intention of discussing it with you before going any further. I just wanted to make sure she didn't go off the idea of Torchwood after a few days. I'm sorry if you feel I've pushed my luck."

Jack sighed quietly, "This is how you felt every time I did something like this, isn't it?"

"No doubt."

"Not as much fun on this side."

"Not really much fun for me either. I don't like going behind your back."

"Well, I guess you didn't, you just took the initiative... damnit, now I feel bad."

A self-satisfied grunt came down the phone from Archie, "Damn I'm good."

Jack scowled even as his lips twitched in amusement. Archie's voice became sober,

"How's Owen?"

"He's ok considering he could be dead. Doctor thinks any paralysis might only be temporary."

"Well thank fuck for small favours. But you realise what this means, don't you?"

Jack did, but he did not answer. Archie huffed and said the obvious, "We need a medic to fill in for him until he's better. Any suggestions?"

"Archie-"

"Jack." Archie's voice was stern, "Even if we only discuss it, we need to talk about what we'll do. He's gonna be out of action for at least few weeks. This group cannot afford to be down a medic for that long."

"I know… but it can wait a single day, can't it?"

"And if the Rift chucks up a disaster tonight?"

Jack sighed and nodded, even though Archie could not see him. "See you in a little while."

"Thank you Jack."

Jack sighed and gave himself a sharp shake. He had to get himself together. He could not allow Archie to take all the pressure. The Scotsman's heart was already under enough strain from his bad diet.

He peered around the door and beckoned Michaela over as Ianto talked on her phone with Torin about good locations to scout for a new home. She scurried over to him.

"Please tell me the world isn't ending, because it's really not the time right now."

Jack grinned and dropped a kiss on her brow, "Nope, just gotta go in a talk with Archie about our long term plans for Owen's recovery and where we'll find a new medic. Look after those two will you?"

"Sure. I'll go hormonal mummy on their arses, they'll have no choice but to let me feed and burp them." She gave him a reassuring smile and Jack chuckled, dropping another kiss on her brow.

"That's sweet and disgusting all at once."

"From what I've heard that's parenthood."

Jack chuckled again and quickly said goodbye to Toshiko and Ianto before either could really stop him from going.

* * *

><p>"Hello, Archie McGregor!"<p>

"Yes, Mr McGregor, it's Meiriona Pugh."

"Ah, Mrs Pugh, that was quick."

"Yes, well, I have a few follow up questions… but I won't deny I'm not interested."

Archie sat back in his chair and smirked knowingly. Between him and Jack, Meiriona Pugh would be in the Hub within the week.

* * *

><p>The info on Owen's back injury may or may not be entirely correct, but it's the best I can do without a full medical background and a tricky subject to research anyway given that it's very circumstantial in regards to damage, consequences and recovery.<p>

Night's Darkness


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

21st May 2009

Lying on his side, Owen grimaced as Dr Courtenay examined his surgical wounds. They had done plenty of tests now, and the results were obvious. Although there was some feeling in his legs still, he could not consciously move them.

It was enough to make him sick, not helped by the fact that he knew that once the catheter was taken out, he would have to be lifted onto a toilet to piss. The idea made him sick to his stomach.

"The wound is healing well." said Dr Courtenay. "So, ready to talk about the long term?"

"Seriously?"

"Owen, you're a doctor, and I can tell you're not one to dance around a subject. So, I suggest we try and focus on what we know and what we can do."

Owen swallowed and for a second, he wished Toshiko was there. But he nodded anyway.

Dr Courtenay walked around and smiled at him consolingly, "Ok. So, currently your spine is in shock, which accounts for the severe lack of response. However based on what I saw during the surgery and your MRI scans, I'm pretty sure we're going to be dealing with a case of incomplete Brown-Séquard Syndrome caused by the posterior lesion caused by the stab wound."

"So that means it isn't necessarily going to be permanent." said Owen quietly. Dr Courtenay nodded,

"Exactly."

"So what next?"

"You're going to be stuck here for at least two weeks to recover and be monitored. After that you'll be transferred to a Rehabilitation Facility-"

"Have to be honest, I never thought I'd end up in that kind of Rehab. Always figured it'd be an alcohol thing." Owen muttered. Dr Courtenay smiled faintly and nodded in understanding. "So how long will I be there?"

"Harder to say, maybe two months, at least."

"Two months?" Owen felt like he would be sick.

"Owen, you have to focus on taking it a day at a time. We can make a game plan for the long term, but in the end, you'll have to focus on the daily targets."

She was right, but all Owen could think about was how he would not be able to get into the Hub in a wheelchair, or even using crutches. And even if he could, he wouldn't be much use as a field agent or even an active doctor. He might as well hand in his resignation now. The others would bitch and moan about it, but after a while they would realise that he just wasn't any use any more.

"Owen, I know that look, come on, you can't just give up now." said Dr Courtenay sternly. "I know it looks bleak, but you can't give up yet."

Owen did not know how to tell her that whether he gave up or not, his life as a part of Torchwood was over, because Torchwood and the Rift waited for no one.

* * *

><p>27th May 2009<p>

It had been seven days since Owen's injury and he was still in the hospital. Ianto and Toshiko spent as much time as they could with him, but Torchwood had called them away more than they would have liked. Neither liked the idea of leaving Owen alone with his own moody thoughts all day, but there was nothing they could do. Torin needed to be taught the ropes of Torchwood as a field agent and Jack and Archie were insistent that Ianto be the one to train him, while Meiriona Pugh was being trained by Toshiko in how the computer systems worked. But since Dr Courtenay was going to check Owen's wounds and they were going to have a proper discussion about how things looked now that the swelling had gone down, Ianto and Toshiko were on a day off. Jack and Archie were handling the plans for the new base and talking to U.N.I.T about their plans, in the interest of not pissing them off as Archie put it.

This meant that when the Rift Alarm went off, Gwen and Torin were the ones who had to go out and handle it, with Michaela on the comm. to monitor them. It was the first time Gwen and Torin had worked together, and Gwen, normally very cheerful about meeting new people, found herself wary of this new man.

Outwardly there was nothing wrong with Torin. He was good looking in that tough solider way, polite and followed orders well. He was also friendly in that manner that American tourists expected of Irish people, and a chatterbox. However there was something about him made Gwen irritable, nothing she could spot or determine for definite, but he bugged her.

"So, where to ma –Gwen." Torin smiled at her as he got into the driver's seat. Gwen tapped her comm.

"Michaela, where're we heading?"

"Tyndall Street, looks like the Newtown Memorial Garden, what's that Gwen?"

"I dunno, probably a memorial to someone who's died." Gwen could imagine Michaela already pulling up the information on the place out of sheer curiosity. She was as bad as Ianto and Toshiko for needing information. "What does the Rift have for us today?"

"I'm not sure. Something small… ish. Toshiko's programme seems to say it's small, but there's a lot of power."

"Like a mine?" asked Torin.

"Honestly could be anything Torin, I wouldn't be able to tell. That's your job."

"Understood."

The drive was short, and Torin parked in front of the Memorial Garden. As they walked into the garden, Michaela giggled over the comm.

"Oh that's just brilliant!"

"What?" asked Gwen warily.

"Guess what this place is called?"

"Aside from Newtown? Go on then."

Michaela giggled again, "It's known as 'Little Ireland'."

"You're joking!" Torin said, pausing mid-step and then resuming his pace with Gwen.

"Nope! It's where the Irish of Cardiff lived –Ah, and apparently was the site for the first 'race riot' in Cardiff when and Irishman killed a Welshman. Watch out Gwen!"

"Very funny Michaela, where's this Rift arrival?" Gwen asked impatiently.

"Uh… hang on." Michaela tutted her tongue as she worked, finally saying, "Look to the right, and go ten metres."

They walked across the stone and onto some grass and Gwen spotted it first. "There!"

A small box, about the length of her arm and dark coloured lay on the ground. Torin kept his gun out as Gwen ran the scanner over it.

"Think it's safe to handle?" Torin asked her after a few minutes. Gwen nodded,

"Looks like. It's locked too. Should be fine."

Torin holstered his gun and hefted the box into his arms. They walked back to the SUV and drove back.

"That was easy." said Torin with a smile.

"Oh just you wait for the bad days." said Gwen with a little more bite than she had intended. Torin looked at her in confusion.

"Have I done something wrong?"

"What?"

"Have I done something to offend you? You don't seem to like me very much?"

"No. You haven't." Gwen answered honestly.

"Then what is it? You don't like me?"

"That's not it. I just… I…" Gwen tried to think of an answer, but quickly gave up. "I don't know. Really. Honestly, you might just be stuck with me being angry about Owen and not being able to do a damn thing about it."

"You're not good at doing nothing, are you?"

Gwen shook her head, there was no point in denying it. Torin sighed and parked the SUV in the Hub's garage.

"Well, I'll tolerate some crankiness for the next while. Consider it my hazing days. But I'm not a pushover and if it goes on too long we'll have a problem."

Gwen nodded, "Ok. Deal."

Torin nodded and clambered out of the SUV, going around to the boot and pulling the box out. Gwen waited for him and they walked into the Hub together. Michaela was nowhere to be seen, but Jack was bounding down to them with his big grin while Archie and Meiriona followed at a more sedate pace.

"Whatcha got for us kids?" Jack asked.

"Not sure captain." Torin held out the box.

"Thank you captain!" Jack replied, taking the box and carrying it to the nearest table. Archie snorted behind them.

"Bloody captains."

Gwen grinned as she followed Jack. The two captains had already developed a habit of calling each other by their rank, deliberately extending their conversations until Ianto yelled at them both to separate. It kept the mood light in the Hub.

As Jack was running the scanner over the box, Michaela joined them, pale as she always was after morning sickness. Gwen reached out blindly and put her hand on a packet of crackers, which were now everywhere around the Hub and offered them to her. Accepting them, Michaela soon resembled a chipmunk nibbling at the corner as she watched Jack work. Meiriona was already filling in the reports and preparing the storage box for the item. Her organisational skills, honed from motherhood, had Ianto half in love with her.

"Hrm… this looks familiar." Jack mused as he read the data from the scanner. "I've seen this material before."

"Dangerous captain?"

"Don't think so captain."

"Knock it off!" snapped Archie as he tilted his head at the box. "Safe to open Jack?"

Jack nodded, "Probably just an alien storage box."

"Guess even aliens need somewhere to put their things." said Meiriona quietly. Gwen could admit she was a little envious of Meiriona's easy acceptance of everything Torchwood and alien so far. Nothing phased this woman.

Jack picked up a pair of clippers and cut the lock. He lifted the lid slowly and peered inside. Reaching in he pulled out wads of material, like padding. Then he hissed and pulled back sharply.

"Ah!"

They all gave a start and Torin grabbed Michaela and pulled her behind him at once. Meiriona quickly stepped further away and Archie edged to the computer. But Jack shook his head and stepped forward again, looking alarmed as he peered in.

"This is not good."

"What is it Jack?" asked Gwen urgently. Jack sighed, reaching in and pulled out a horribly familiar looking metal glove. "Oh fuck!" Gwen took four big steps back from the thing.

"Shit!" Archie hissed as he glared down at the other Risen Mitten.

"Guess Ianto was right about gloves coming in pairs." Jack sighed, turning around with it in his hands. "We'd better put this thing away in the secure archives." He glanced at Michaela and then said, "I'll do it. Just to be safe."

Michaela did not protest.

"Uh… could someone let us in on the problem?" asked Meiriona, "All I see is a fancy gauntlet."

"We've encountered one of these before." said Jack with a heavy sigh, "It can resurrect people from the dead."

The newbies stared at the glove in shock. Then Torin frowned,

"How?"

"We're not sure. All we know is that it drains the energy from whoever wears it to keep the other person alive. It can eventually heal any injury… by transferring the wound to the wearer."

"So… if it's the fatal wound…?" Torin asked slowly.

"Yeah, it gets transferred." said Gwen shortly, touching the back of her head as a phantom of the pain she had experienced with Suzie came back for a moment.

"Fuck."

"It can also drive you crazy." said Jack, "It drove one Torchwood employee to murder."

"Lovely." drawled Meiriona, making notes on the report. "So… what'd you call this thing?"

"Ianto dubbed it the Risen Mitten." said Jack with a faint grin.

"The Risen Mitten was Bitten by the Smitten Kitten from Britain?" asked Torin promptly. They all stared at him and then Michaela giggled,

"Oh I dare you to say that in front of Owen! With Ianto joining in. Owen would kill the pair of you!"

Torin grinned at her and Gwen felt irritated again as Jack chuckled and shook his head. Archie mimed shooting himself in the head and then asked, rather masochistically,

"There's a Life Knife that comes with the Risen Mitten."

"The Life Knife is Rife with Strife for the Fisher's Wife."

"Of course it is." Archie sighed, walking away from the Irishman, who shook his head,

"That didn't even make sense."

"Makes more sense than anything else you could have said." said Michaela, leaning against the wall. "All I can think of is Fife… Life Knife is not a fife… God that sucks!"

"Yes, but it is true." Torin chuckled, reaching out and tapping her on the nose. Gwen boggled at the two and Michaela went red, looking shy now and quickly making her excuses to join Jack in the Secure Archives. Gwen, meanwhile, realised exactly why she was annoyed by Torin Scully.


End file.
